


A Saving Grace

by IamtheOther5am



Series: A Saving Grace [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-24 00:56:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6135904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamtheOther5am/pseuds/IamtheOther5am
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So we know that Jefferson has a daughter, and we know that before she was born he worked for Rumplestiltskin...but what happened in between?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Step Into the Unknown

The pendulum on the ancient grandfather clock swung back and forth, over and over, the same as every day for the past 18 years. The soundtrack to your life, stuck in this dusty tower, watching the seasons change outside your tiny window, as your hair grew inch by inch, foot by foot. Now, the brilliant golden strands were beautiful, you couldn’t deny that, but they were cumbersome, a genuine pain to carry around. Dragging them around as you cleaned, heaving them from your chair to your bed every night, wrapping them around the bedposts like some kind of canopy, _washing them_ …  
  
It might’ve been easier if you’d had a friend to talk to, or complain at, but Mother had forbidden you from leaving the tower, scaring you with tails of evil Queens with impeccable fashion sense, creepy old men who could grant wishes… _for a price_. You shuddered at the thought. Oh, yes, at least in the tower you were safe from all of that. You had your paints and brushes to keep you entertained. What more could a girl want?   
  
“Love,” you whispered to yourself. You stepped back from your latest creation, a colourful sky of reds and ambers, the trees below cast in bewitching silhouette. You sighed, “Surely not everyone is wicked, or creepy or… _unfriendly_. After all, Mother goes outside every day.” You flopped down on the floor, your hair acting as a cushion. “If I _was_ to go out…” you said, twisting strands between your fingers, “What’s the worst that could happen? If I get injured…heaven forbid…this stuff will come in handy.” You grinned, releasing the twists and letting your golden hair catch the thin strip of sunlight breaking through the window.  
  
You punched your fist into your other hand, suddenly feeling brave…or was it foolish? “I’m going,” you declared to the empty room. “18 years cooped up in this place, slowly being drowned by my own hair? Nope…sorry Mother, not anymore."  
  
You must have stared at your reflection in the hand mirror for hours, preparing yourself for your adventure. “I can’t stay here forever, but…what will she say?" You chewed your lip, examining the countless number of stars you'd painted on the walls over the years. "Oh who cares, right? You are your own woman, Rapunzel. You’re a one-of-a-kind. I mean, you don’t even have your mother’s dark hair, you had to be different with the blonde.” You frowned and rested the mirror in your lap. “I wonder if I got it from Father.” You shrugged, taking a deep breath and gathering what few possessions you had into a small enchanted bag you’d owned since, well, forever. Anything, no matter the size or shape, could fit into it, concealed and safe. Sometimes you’d been tempted to climb inside, but then who would sing to Mother and give her youth back to her? You couldn’t do that.  
  
You climbed onto the window sill, your hair tied into the largest flower braid this magical world had probably ever seen. More deep breaths were taken, staring down at the vivid green grass 30 feet below. “Come on, Rapunzel,” you said to yourself, “If not now, _when?_ ” You closed your eyes and turned your back to the view, shakily clambering down and dangling your feet backwards, feeling around for the thick, sturdy beanstalk that snaked its way around the tower wall. _There it was_. You made sure your bag was secured around your wrist and set off, your dainty toes curling around the stalk. _Steady…steady_ … Once you'd got the hang of it, this felt like a mini adventure all by itself, and you wondered why you'd never had the courage to try this before. Eventually, your feet touched the ground, sinking into the springy grass, better than the softest, most luscious carpet man could ever dream of creating. You dropped to your knees, your fingers splayed in the green. “It was worth the wait.”  
  
After lingering on the grass for a while, you stood up. The forest was awash with colour in the early morning sun, bluebells swaying in the breeze, butterflies flitting between toadstools. You ventured on for about an hour under the cool canopy of tree branches, your hands running along the barks, lost in thought. How many storms had these hardy trees weathered? How many summers had they seen?   
  
You stopped. A flash of light emanated from a clearing just ahead of you, causing you to dive behind a tree, your bag falling off your wrist. The brightness faded as quickly as it arrived, the faint sound of something landing on the grass following it. You scrunched your eyes shut, doubting whether leaving the safety of your tower actually _was_ a good idea, after all. “Mother knows best,” you whispered to yourself. You shook your head, “No. It was about time I grew up and took care of myself.” You peered around the trunk, your bright blue eyes captivated by something. You leant around a little more.   
  
A man stood just a few feet away, tall, wearing a long, dark coat with leather trim, his hair a shaggy mess. You frowned. You’d never encountered a man before. He placed his hand in his satchel, pulling out a ball of entangled gold thread and taking hold of the end, lifting it up to the light. The sparkle was dazzling, almost blinding you for a moment.   
  
“Hmm,” he nodded, “I’d say this was a… _good_ day’s work.” He chuckled under his breath, swiping up an oversized top hat off the ground, dusting it off and flipping it backwards onto his head.  
  
You bit your lip, captivated by this mysterious person. He had an air of confidence about him that you did not possess yourself, and despite your best efforts, you couldn’t take your eyes off him. He shifted his weight and you gasped, stepping backwards and snapping a twig underfoot. He twisted around.   
  
"Erm, hel…lo?” he muttered, his eyes scanning from left to right, a frown on his face.  
  
You stayed silent, safe behind your tree.   
  
“You know…my mother always told me it was rude to ignore people…”  
  
_I should never have left, I should never have left._  
  
The forest was suddenly silent. Maybe he’d given up and gone away? You glanced around the tree again, in the direction of where you last saw him. He wasn’t there. “Phew,” you sighed, placing your hand on your heart and bending down to collect your bag. As you lifted your gaze, you were met with a pair of feet. You looked up through some strands of hair that had come loose in your dive for cover. His features took your breath away. His burgundy red cravat, the perfect accent to the black and the leather. His eyes were warm and inviting, his jawline sharp. You blinked a few times.   
  
“Ahem,” he coughed, before flashing you a mischievous grin. “You’re new.”  
  
“No I’m not."  
  
“Yes…yes you are,” he replied, planting his index finger on his pouting lips. “I travel… _a lot_ , throughout these magical realms, and I’m positive I’ve never seen your pretty face before.” He took a step forward, as you took one back. “I would’ve remembered.”  
  
You tightened your grip around your bag, covering your heart.  “I…I…well, I’m shy. I don’t go far from my home.”   
  
He looked you up and down. “Clearly…”  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
“You’re staring at me, like you’ve never seen a man before.”  
  
“I’ve seen plenty,” you sniped, your face turning red out of embarrassment.   
  
“Oh, is that so?” he laughed.  
  
“Well…not _plenty_ , but…Hold on,” you scoffed, folding your arms, “Why do I have to explain myself to _you_? I don’t even know you.”  
  
“Let’s remedy that, shall we? The name’s Jefferson.” He doffed his hat. Your heart skipped a beat. “A friend to those…in need, I guess?”  
  
“Nice to meet you, Jefferson. I’m Ra…” you stuttered. Should you be giving this strange man your real name? “Rapunzel…”  
  
“Rapunzel? Why do I know that name?”  
  
“I have no idea,” you sighed, flinging your arms out and leaning back against the tree. “Maybe it’s the name of some girl you met on your travels…” He frowned, and then shook his head. You changed the subject. “So…you’re a friend to those in need, huh? Is that what the light show was all about?” you asked, pointing your thumb over your shoulder.  
  
“Yes,” he grinned, “I just helped to reunite a man with his, ahem, long lost brother.” He patted the satchel.  
  
“How very _noble_ of you.”  
  
"Oh no, if there’s anyone here who’s noble, it’s you.”   
  
“Whatever do you mean?”  
  
He brushed the back of his finger down the sleeve of your blue and gold dress, a sigh escaping his lips. “It’s an odd thing to go walking through a forest in.”  
  
Xxx   
  
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” Mother Gothel sang from the base of the tower.  
  
Silence.   
  
"Odd,” she muttered, tapping her foot. “I haven’t got all day, my dear!” When the shimmering cascade of gold failed to appear from the window and tumble down to the ground, she panicked, racing round to an old, barricaded door, hidden by vines. She grabbed at them, clawing her way to the handle and yanking the door open, almost pulling it off its hinges. “No, no, no, no…” she chanted, running up the stairs, two at a time.   
  
“Rapunzel!” she screamed, finally reaching the top. She pulled back curtains, checked the bedrooms, even looking in the dresser. Nothing. “Where in the world are y… _oh no_ ,” she gasped, “How many times did I warn you? How many _times??”_  
  
She stormed over to the window you’d climbed out of a few hours before and shrieked, “Rapunzel!”  
  
Xxx  
  
“What was that?” Jefferson asked, glancing around, trying to work out where the sound was coming from.  
  
Your eyes were wide. “Nothing. It must’ve been an animal, of, erm…some sort.”  
  
He gave you a side-eyed look. “Hmm. An animal that can growl your name?”  
  
You heard it again, the unmistakeable bellowing of Mother. Without thinking, you grabbed his hand and tugged him in the opposite direction to the noise. “Can we just…go?”  
  
He smirked, planting his feet firmly on the ground. “And why do we need to do that?”  
  
“Just _because_.” You tugged at him some more. “Please.”  
  
He relaxed, allowing you to pull him along, “Alright, since you asked nicely. But I want to know what’s going on, alright? If I'm going to accompany on you this walk. Why is there a woman screaming your name all the way over…there?” he asked, pointing behind him.   
  
"It’s a long story, believe me. Now _please_ , can we just hurry up? I want to get away from here. I don’t want her to catch me.”  
  
“Why didn’t you say?” he smiled, letting go of your hand and coming to a stop. You opened your mouth to plead with him, but before you could speak, he placed his finger on your lips and removed his hat. He beckoned you to step back and you obliged, leaving a clear path to a small dip in the forest floor.   
  
“What are you…?”  
  
“Just…watch,” he whispered, turning the hat upside down and holding it on the brim. With a flick of his wrist, the hat spun through the air, streams of light encircling it as it landed. A bright white column of light escaped from the opening, fired into the air like a beacon.   
  
You stood open mouthed, tearing your eyes away just long enough to see him offer his hand to you, a reassuring smile on his face. You hesitated for a moment, before slipping your hand into his and returning the smile.  
  
“Hold on,” he mouthed, squeezing your hand.  
  
You nodded, and before you had time to think, you had both leapt into the light, drawn down into the hat and disappearing from the forest.


	2. A Leap of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the hat you go...

As quickly as you’d jumped into the hat, you were falling out of it, flying headfirst towards a grey stone floor covered in geometric patterns. You screamed, and you could’ve sworn your heart stopped for a moment in anticipation of the impact. 

You stopped, a pair of hands reaching out and grabbing you mere inches from the floor.

“Whoa, there!” Jefferson laughed, pulling you up to standing, his arms around your waist. You breathed a sigh of relief, laughing into his shoulder for a moment, before meeting his gaze. You were lost in each other’s eyes, time slowing to a complete stop.

He tilted his head slightly, lifting a hand to tuck that loose strand of hair back behind your ear. “You…you’ll get used to the landing.”

You licked your lips, transfixed by his smile and his protective embrace. “Thank you,” you sighed. Suddenly you remembered that this man was a complete stranger, you shook your head and stepped away from him, “Wha…what is that?”

He picked up the hat and handed it to you, “This dandy piece of headwear is a portal…or at least the door to this place,” he outstretched his arms, “ _This_ is the portal.

“To where?” you asked, inspecting every inch of the velvet-lined hat.

“Wherever you want to go, of course.” He stepped up to you and put his arm around you, squeezing your shoulder. “Each door leads to a different magical world. You can go to...” He took the hat from you, placed it jauntily on his head and ran over to the first door, extending his arm out to the side, taking a deep breath. “Neverland, Wonderland, Oz, Camelot, Disneyland, Ancient China, Victorian England…I’m kidding. Disneyland is a _whole different_ kind of magical,” he winked.

“Really? So we open any door and…we’re in a different world?” 

He nodded.

“Wow. And here was I, thinking that the forest I could see out of my window was vast.”

“Yeah…about that.” He clasped his hands behind his back and walked around you in a wide circle, “Why are you running away from said forest, and the scary woman?”

“I’m not _running away_ , I’m just…exploring a little further afield.”

“Ah, I see. In that case…” He came to a stop by a shabby wooden door with no handle. “Take my hand,” he whispered.

“Why…?”

He dropped his shoulders and spun round to you so fast, his hat nearly fell of his head. “You said you wanted to explore, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And do you trust me?”

You thought for a second, fidgeting with the sleeve of your dress. “Yes.”

“Great, now take my hand.” He held it out again and this time you responded, sliding your fingers into his palm, his hand gently tickling yours as he turned it.

Without taking his eyes off you, he ran a finger down the middle of the door, before dragging it left, down again, right and finally back up, finishing by drawing a circle in the centre. As he moved his hand away, the door shook, an ornate golden door knob pushing its way up through the tired, splintering wood. Magnificent carvings appeared as if being fashioned by invisible hands, running along the length and breadth of the door, accented in gold. Those same invisible hands then took care of the polish, a reddish brown hue ran down from the top, covering the rest of the wood and finishing the transformation.

You gasped. You’d never seen anything like it. “How did…?”

“Magic,” he whispered, grasping hold of the door knob and twisting it. “Welcome to my home…” He stepped back, allowing you to walk across the threshold first, your eyes wide and your mouth open.

You stepped into a garden, filled with flowers of every colour, rolling green lawns, a small stream running over pebbles off to your right, towards a lake over in the distance. It created a sound that was possibly the most soothing thing you’d ever heard. Beyond the garden sat a small but very smart red-brick house, a plume of smoke rising from the chimney and swirling up into the clear blue sky. “You live here?”

“Mm hmm. Gotta live somewhere, haven’t I?” he winked, striding past you and bounding up the hill, “Come on, let’s have some tea.” He headed straight for the house, taking out an ornamental key from his satchel, unlocking the front door and walking inside.

You followed him, stopping now and again to admire your surroundings. There didn’t appear to be any other houses in the vicinity, and although you’d lived in isolation like this for your entire life, this felt different. More comfortable?

“Quiet, isn’t it?” he said, leaning against the door jamb.

“It’s wonderful. Do you like it?”

“Now and again, sure…”

“You like noise…people, that kind of thing?”

He nodded.  “I need to see people, have something to do. It’s why I travel, or at least one of _many_ reasons why I travel. Now, come on…tea.” He removed his hat and led you into the hallway, black and white checkerboard tiles on the floor, an oak staircase standing proud against one wall, coat stands everywhere, sprouting up like trees. Sunlight burst through a long, narrow stained-glass window halfway up the stairs, at the bend, multi-coloured streams covering the floor and walls. You smiled. This felt like a proper home.

Walking through a doorway just off to the right, you were faced with a kitchen, baskets filled with fruits and vegetables that you’d never seen before, every colour of the rainbow. A large, heavy wooden table sat in the middle of the room, covered in jars of ingredients, an ornate set of weighing scales set off to the side, gold flecks scattered around the base. “Wow,” you whispered to yourself, placing your bag on the floor.

You looked up to see dozens of teapots, tall, thin ones; short, round fat ones; red ones; pink ones; green ones; and floral ones, all hanging from butchers hooks, their spouts pointing down at you. Jefferson reached up, taking a polka dot teapot your eyes were focused on. You watched as he worked at the stove, placing a tarnished kettle on the heat and collecting two fine china cups and saucers from a shelf. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a tea drinker, let alone one who drinks from such fancy cups.”

“What can I say? I’m a man of many layers,” he grinned, setting a sugar bowl and milk jug down on the table. “Plus, I just really like tea. It’s calming when I get home.”

You pointed at the scales, “Does counting out your winnings calm you, too?”

“Huh?”

“The gold thread…you were admiring it when I first saw you. There’s tiny specks of it all over.”

“Oh, right. Yes, when I work for Rumpelstiltskin he lets me take whatever I think I’m owed. It’s a nice little deal, actually, affords me this little patch of ordinary.”

“Who’s Rumpelstiltskin?”

“Who’s… _oh my_ , you’ve never heard of him?” He leaned back against the table, folding his arms. “That’s probably for the best, actually. He’s…an odd sort of fellow, very sneaky, _very_ morally grey…but then again, I guess you could say I am too.” He offered a sad laugh.

“Why would you say that?” You touched the back of your head, the weight of your hair taking its toll on your roots.

“I have to be. I deal with some unsavoury characters.”

“That explains it…”

“What?”

“The door.” You stood up straight, and rested your hand on the table. “The one that brought us here looked…well, _uninviting_ when we stepped up to it.”

“Yes, I find it keeps people’s eyes away from it, when I bring them through the hat. The natural thing for anyone to do when they first arrive is to scan the doors, to decide which one they want to go through. Tell me, did you notice that dilapidated old door when we landed?”

You shook your head.

“Exactly. Keeps this place hidden, because who wants to go through a door that looks like it might have a dark, foreboding wood behind it? I’m safe here.”

“Very clever,” you smiled. “So…” The kettle began whistling on the stove, the noise eventually drowning you out, so you let him fill the teapot whilst you admired a few more items, paying particular attention to a shiny red apple sat on the top shelf of a rickety-looking dresser. You reached out to grab it.

“Don’t touch that!” Jefferson shouted, almost leaping between you and the offending piece of fruit. You couldn’t hide your shock at his sudden outburst. “I’m sorry…” he sighed, placing his hands on your shoulders, “That apple is not for eating. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d taken a bite.” He tried to smile, but his fear wouldn’t let him.

“Oh…” you pulled your hands behind your back, biting your lip, “I didn’t mean to...to.” You exhaled, dropping your shoulders, “I lied earlier on. The reason you’ve never seen me before is because, well…until a few hours ago I’d never left my house. Ever.”

“You’re joking…” he muttered. You shook your head. “Talk to me,” he whispered, taking your hand and leading you back to the table. You sat on stools either side of a corner and he poured the tea into the cups. “Why have you never left your house?”

“Tower…it’s…more of a _tower_ ,” you winced, fidgeting again. “I live with Mother, who is very, very protective of me. She’s been terrified of me getting lost or kidnapped since the day I came into her life…that’s what she told me. I’m safe up there, just like you are here, and I have my paintings…” you wrapped your fingers around the cup, relaxing as the warmth spread up your arms.

“But…that’s no way to live, Rapunzel. This world we live in, it’s just crying out to be explored and lived in.”

“I know, I’ve been seeing it all from my window for all those years. I’ve wanted to go out for as long as I can remember, but… _Mother knows best_ ,” you sighed, dropping your hands down into your lap and offering him a weak smile.

“But she doesn’t,” he replied, leaning forward in his seat and tapping his knuckles on the table. “She’s kept you hidden away in a tower, like a prisoner. That’s not right…or normal.”

“It’s all I’ve ever known, Jefferson. I appreciate that it’s a bit strange…”

“No, no. Stop right there.” You clamped your mouth shut, slightly stunned by his attitude. “This is so much more than _strange_. Ask yourself, why have you not been out before now? What’s kept you up in that tower, huh?”

“I…I didn’t want to defy her.”

“It’s more than that. You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Your eyes darted all over as you hid your mouth behind a clenched fist. “Yes,” you whispered.

“I _knew_ it. The look on your face when we heard her screaming your name was pure terror. That’s not the look someone gives their mother. It was more akin to being chased by hungry wolves, or the Queen’s guards. Something else is going here…”

You jumped to your feet, almost knocking the stool over in the process. “I know, okay?! I know… _exactly_ what’s going on! She’s…she’s not my real mother…” you shouted, trying to catch your breath in between your words.

Jefferson had a look of bewilderment on his face, “How..?”

“I’ve always suspected something…I don’t look like her, for one thing. She’s never been very motherly, in _any_ respect. Never read to me, or…” You waved your hands in his direction, before falling back against the wall and wrapping your arms around yourself. “I guess I just pretended. I pushed all of my doubts right to the back of my mind, in the hope that if I didn’t cause any problems, she might let me out one day.” You gave a sad laugh, “Naïve in every respect, aren’t I?”

He shook his head, and you were certain you could see tears dampening his eyelashes. “No…” He rolled his lips, a reassuring smile just managing to break through the sadness. “Rapunzel, you have been a…” His eyes grew wide, a thought suddenly appearing in his mind.

Xxx

“Your Majesty. Madame Gothel requests a moment of your time,” a guard mumbled, looking down his nose to see her under the brim of his helmet.

“Fine, send her in.”

The guard nodded and turned to fetch her. As he opened the door, the woman flounced in. She was tall and willowy, with dark wavy hair and a face like someone sucking on a lemon. The Queen grimaced.

“Regina, my dear...” she smiled, holding her arms out and pulling the Queen into an uncomfortably tight embrace. “We have a problem.”

“Oh?”

“She's escaped.”


	3. The Story Unfolds

Regina’s face twisted into a grin and she was overcome with laughter, unnerving in its resonance. Gothel shifted her weight, glancing round at the guards who remained perfectly still, their faces expressionless.   
  
“I’m…sorry…” Regina spluttered, trying to compose herself, “That’s so…” Her efforts to control her laughter were useless, and she bent over backwards, tears running down her cheeks. “Anyone…would think…you had more than…one job to do…”   
  
“Your Majesty?”  
  
The laughter stopped and the Queen’s face soured. “You were tasked with keeping her hidden, away from prying eyes, and you _lost_ her?!”  
  
“Well…technically she…”  
  
“Technically you’re an imbecile!”  
  
“I hardly think that’s fair, I couldn’t watch her day and night. And besides, I’d filled her head with terrifying stories about what exists outside the walls of that tower. She’s a fool if she still wanted to leave.”  
  
Regina huffed, stepping down from her throne in her sky-high heels, her long fur-lined cape gliding across the marble floor. “My mother entrusted you all those years ago to keep the little precious princess hidden away... she even let you make use of the girl’s party trick, as a thank you and now…Ugh!” She stomped over to an elaborate mirror hung on the wall and splayed her fingers, firing magic into the purple-grey smoke that filled the glass.   
  
A disembodied head appeared in the mirror. “You summoned me, your Majesty?”  
  
“Yes...” She planted her hands on her hips and spun round to glare at Gothel for a moment, before continuing, “Magic Mirror, it appears Rapunzel has gone on an adventure. Be a dear and see if you can find her in the kingdom, okay?”   
  
“Certainly, my Queen.” He bowed his head and she blew him a kiss, grinning like the Cheshire cat. As he evaporated into the smoke, the smile disappeared from her face and she turned back to the cowering woman, grey streaks appearing in Gothel’s hair as she stood there.   
  
“Whilst one loyal servant tries to fix that mistake, I need to think about what to do with _you_. After all, this isn’t some small, insignificant blunder on your part, Gothel…you’ve disappointed me, and I _hate_ being disappointed.”  
  
“Your Majesty, I didn’t think she’d ever…”  
  
“Exactly! You. Didn’t. Think. You just assumed your scary bedtime stories would be enough to stop her venturing out, but _clearly_ they didn’t work!” She threw her hands up in the air, her eyes boring down on Gothel as she breathed heavily. She strolled over to a table, a bowl of shiny red apples taking pride of place in the centre. She picked one up and examined it, turning it in her hand, before returning her attention to the woman, her voice low and threatening. “I have my own scary stories, Gothel…”  
  
“Ahem…”  
  
Regina pouted and turned back to the mirror to see the head bobbing up and down in the smoke. “Did you find her?”  
  
“Well… _no_ , I’m afraid not. I’ve looked through every mirror in the kingdom, and there’s no sigh of her anywhere.”  
  
“How can that be? She can’t just disappear!?”  
  
“If I didn’t know any better, Your Majesty, I’d say she wasn’t in this… _world_ anymore.”  
  
Regina’s eyes grew wide as she stumbled back a few steps, the apple falling from her grasp. “Jefferson…”  
  
“Who?” Gothel asked, shaking with fear.  
  
“Jefferson!” She screamed, the noise echoing around the cavernous throne room. “Why, that scheming, deceitful …perfectly groomed little swindler! Ugh!” Her eyes darted all around the room for a moment, taking in the concerned face of the Magic Mirror, and the impassive faces of her guards. Silence fell for what felt like hours, before a sinister laugh erupted from her mouth, her blood-red lips vivid against her pale skin, “Oh, you’ll be sorry, _Hatter_ …as if I needed another reason to destroy you!”   
  
xxx  
  
**Storybrooke**  
  
“Okay, okay, okay nice try,” Emma laughed, jumping out of her desk chair and retrieving two scrap paper balls out of the trash and one off the floor. “Now let the master…or _mistress_ , show you how it’s done.” She turned back around and winked at Henry, perched on the empty Deputy’s desk, eating a sandwich.    
  
She took a couple of exaggerated steps away from the waste paper basket and held the ball aloft, lining up her aim.  
  
“ _Come on, Emma_ …It didn’t take me this long.” Henry whined, taking a sip of his juice.  
  
“Shut up…you eat lunch in my office, you play by my rules.” She giggled and aimed one last time, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth. The paper ball flew through the air, circling round the rim of the trash can and falling in. Her arms leapt up in the air. “Yes!”  
  
“Excuse me...?” A faint voice came from the reception area. “Hello…?”  
  
Emma dropped her arms and turned, scooting Henry off the desk and picking up her Sherriff’s badge before rushing round to the visitor. “Hi, sorry…we were just…” she motioned to the boy, holding one of the paper balls in his hand. “Go…” she whispered to him.  
  
“Oh, it’s no problem, in fact I’m sorry for disturbing you. I realise its lunchtime, shall I come back?” you said, pointing your thumb over your shoulder and turning toward the door.  
  
Emma paused for a moment, noticing Henry staring too. You were stood in front of them, breathtakingly beautiful, with your stunning wavy golden hair cascading over your shoulders and down your back, and the kindest smile. “Err, no. We’re an all-day operation, so please, what can I help you with?”  
  
“Well…now, just tell me if I’m wasting your time…I’ve had something stolen,” you frowned.  
  
“What’s been taken, ma’am?”  
  
“A…a painting. And please, call me Skye.”  
  
“A painting that you own, Skye? Is it insured?” Emma asked, flipping open her notebook and jotting down details as you spoke.  
  
“No it’s not insured, but…well, I guess you could say I own it, I mean, I painted it myself. I’m an artist. I have a studio down at the docks, you might have seen it?”  
  
“Oh yeah!” Henry chipped in, “I know it, the little white cabin with the lobster pots stacked up outside?”  
  
“That’s the one,” you nodded, smiling at him. You looked back to Emma and tried in vain to read her notes upside down. “So, it was there last night. I know because it had just finished drying and I signed it last thing, before I went to bed. When I came in this morning, it was gone.”  
  
“I see…I don’t suppose you took any photographs of the painting before this morning, did you?” Emma asked.  
  
“No…” you replied with a frown. Suddenly your eyes widened and you made everyone jump. “But I do still have my original sketches that I used for the composition…would they help?”  
  
“Absolutely!”   
  
“They’re back at the studio, if you’ve got time to come down at some point?”   
  
“Well…” Emma muttered, looking back through the office towards the empty cells, “…It’s a quiet day today, so I could take a look now.”  
  
“Yeah!” Henry grinned. As you nodded your approval and turned around to lead the way, he gave Emma a nudge with his elbow, the Fairy-tale book open in his arms. “Emma…look…”   
  
She glanced down at the page to see a beautiful young woman sitting in a round room, her hair gathered around her on the floor, covering nearly every square inch of it. Her eyes were focused on a stunning painting on the wall, paintbrush in hand, her face sad. “What the…?”  
  
“Are we ready to go?”  
  
“Yes, let me just grab my jacket and we’re on our way.” She grabbed her car keys out of her red jacket pocket and followed you outside into the crisp, autumn morning. “I just need to make a quick detour to the school, drop this guy off.”  
  
“What? Noooo…” Henry protested.   
  
You bit your lip to stifle a giggle when he stomped his feet a little. “Hey isn’t it near the end of the semester?”  
  
“Yeah…” he sulked, scuffing his shoe on the curb.   
  
“So aren’t you guys just going to be doing art stuff anyway?”  
  
“Yeah, we are!” He replied, his face lighting up as he got the hint. He spun round to Emma and pleaded, “She’s right, Emma! It could be classed as a field trip! I’m learning.”  
  
Emma rolled her eyes and flung the driver’s door open, “Fine…get in the back.” She tipped the seat forward and within seconds he was happily sat with his seatbelt fastened. “Kids, huh?” she laughed, motioning for you to get in the passenger side.   
  
The journey only took a few minutes in Emma’s little yellow Bug, just enough time for Henry to fill you in on his art projects at school, which sounded fun, if a little easy for a child with so much energy and eagerness. He also mentioned something called Operation Cobra, but you had no idea what he was talking about, and judging by the look Emma gave him in the rear-view mirror, it wasn’t something to be discussed with strangers.   
  
The car pulled up just in front of the studio and everyone climbed out, breathing in the invigorating sea air. You led the way, retrieving your keys and opening the door on the side of the white weatherboard-clad building. As you stepped inside, the comfortable warmth rushed over you, and you smiled, beckoning Emma and Henry into the main workspace.   
  
“Whoa…” Emma breathed, turning in circles as she walked into the centre of the room. The walls were covered - floor to ceiling – with paintings on canvasses of every size and shape. Each was filled with intricate detail and vibrant colour; some watercolours; some oils. “This is…”  
  
“Amazing…” Henry sighed, mirroring her movements. “You’re very talented, Skye.”  
  
“Thank you,” you smiled, your cheeks turning red. “I try.”  
  
“Huh…” Emma frowned, her eyes drawn to a particular painting to her left. She stepped over and hovered her fingers above the paint.  
  
“Is there something wrong?” you asked, a little worried.  
  
“It’s just funny…you work by the ocean, and yet…” she twisted round, half facing you, whilst keeping an eye on the pieces. “Every painting is an inland landscape?”  
  
“Yeah, weird, right?” You walked over to her and folded your arms, your eyes trained on the painting she nearly touched. “I don’t know why, but these scenes just come to me. Especially forests, for some reason. It’s always been that way, too. I actually based my studio here to try and pull me out of my comfort zone, but honestly, I can’t stop painting this stuff. I go through so much green paint, you wouldn’t believe,” you laughed, scratching your nose.  
  
“This is different, though,” Henry piped up, his finger pointed at a piece, half-hidden behind a large oil-on-canvas.  
  
You and Emma strolled over and you bent down, sliding it out from its hiding spot. “Oh, I’ve not looked at this in a long time…” The painting was bright and cheerful, with rolling green lawns and a powder blue sky. Taking pride of place in the centre was a small, but perfectly kept red brick house, white fluffy smoke arising from the chimney.  
  
“What house is that?”  
  
“I haven’t got a clue…”  
  
The three of you stood staring at it for a while, heads tilted to the side. Despite the cheerful nature of the painting, you had a feeling in your stomach, like something terrible had happened, or was about to. You weren’t sure which.  
  
“So…this stolen painting…” Emma said, breaking the silence. “You said you have sketches?”  
  
“Ah, yes.” You headed over to a beautiful oak plan chest and opened the top drawer, pulling out a large sheet of paper and placing it on top of the chest. “I always sketch first, so I can figure out where I want all the pieces of the composition to sit in the painting. This…” you tapped the paper, “Is my latest.”  
  
Emma and Henry stepped forward and looked down at the sketch, a work of art in itself.   
  
You watched them, gauging their reactions and feeling a small sense of pride in the open-mouthed wonder. You gave a soft laugh, “It’s interesting, huh? You mention about how all my art is landscapes and forests, and yet this is the one that’s taken…”  
  
A large circle around the outer edge of the sketch acted as a container for the detail within, a geometric pattern decorating the inside. In front of that, two hands; one large and protective, was outstretched, palm up. The other, smaller and more delicate, was placed on top, a beautiful ring topped off with sparkling gemstones sat on the wedding finger. Looking at it all made you feel something…a sense of loss. But what, and how?    
  
“It’s beautiful, Skye…wow,” Emma breathed, leaning in for a closer inspection. She pointed at a detail, “Is that…a child?”  
  
“Where?” Henry asked, reaching up on his tiptoes to get a better view.  
  
“Right…there.”  
  
Sure enough, sat just outside the container circle, was the figure of a small child, a girl in silhouette, surrounded by tall tree trunks. Even with just an outline, you could tell that she was sad too, sitting on the ground, looking upwards towards the embracing hands.   
  
“Yes…” you murmured, breathing in a large gulp of air. “I have no clue where this idea came from but…I did the entire sketch in one go, like I was overcome by someone else’s memories.” You rubbed your temples and rested a hand against the wall. “It’s so different to what I normally do, and it gets stolen….what am I missing here?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Emma frowned, “But I’m going to find out. Can I keep this?” She asked, pointing at the sketch. You nodded, and within seconds it was rolled up and placed in a nearby poster tube. “All right…give me a day or two, Skye. I don’t know much right now, but I would bet good money that your painting is still in Storybrooke.”  
  
xxx  
  
A man shuffled down an alleyway, a large square item in his hands, covered with a sheet. He walked over to a door and lifted his leg, resting the item on his knee as he fiddled around with his key in the lock. When the heavy door finally swung open, he haphazardly wrestled the item into a storage room, small and dark, shelving units piled high with assorted objects; some sparkling; others downright dangerous-looking. He lowered his possession down onto the floor and peeled back a corner of the sheet, revealing the painting underneath, a scene in silhouette around the outside and a section of the intricate geometric shape inside the circle. “Now, now, _dearie_ …” the man grinned, “I told you magic came with a price.”


	4. An Apple a Day...

_**From Part 2** _

_“I’ve always suspected something…I don’t look like her, for one thing. She’s never been very motherly, in any respect. Never read to me, or…” You waved your hands in his direction, before falling back against the wall and wrapping your arms around yourself. “I guess I just pretended. I pushed all of my doubts right to the back of my mind, in the hope that if I didn’t cause any problems, she might let me out one day.” You gave a sad laugh, “Naïve in every respect, aren’t I?”  
  
_ _He shook his head, and you were certain you could see tears dampening his eyelashes. “No…” He rolled his lips, a reassuring smile just managing to break through the sadness. “Rapunzel, you have been a…” His eyes grew wide, a thought suddenly appearing in his mind._  
  
\-----------  
  
“Are you…sure?” you asked, dropping down onto the stool in Jefferson’s kitchen.  
  


“Yep, quite sure. I knew I recognised your face…Your family has been looking for you for years. I did a bit of business in their kingdom, some time ago and the posters were still up.” He reached out to you, grasping on to your hand. “They’ve never stopped searching, Rapunzel.”  
  
You rolled your lips, keeping the tears at bay. “So what do I do now?”  
  
“We will go there and introduce you to your family…”  
  
“ _We_ …?”  
  
“Yes, I want to help, if that’s all right?”  
  
You nodded, a stubborn tear breaking free and running down your cheek, “I would like that, very much.”  
  
“Excellent!” He clapped his hands together and leant back slightly, nearly falling backwards off the stool. “Right then…we should probably stay here tonight, and set off in the morning. What do you say?”  
  
“Sounds like a plan to me.” You wiped at your tears and smiled at him, spluttering when he pulled a face to make you laugh. “Thank you, Jefferson…for all of your help.”  
  
“What? No…” he smirked, waving you off, “It’s nice to be helpful for the purest of reasons, for a change. Usually I’m off fetching things for people too scared or too lazy to get it for themselves. You could say this is my good deed for the _decade!”  
  
_ You spluttered again, your hands shaking from all that you’d be told.   
  
“Hey…” he lifted his hand, wiping a tear off your cheek with his thumb, “It’s all right. Everything will be perfect in the end.”  
  
You took a breath and dropped your head for a moment, gathering your thoughts. “So…if I’m staying the night, care to show me around?”  
  
He leapt up and pulled a face, wiggling his fingers. “Of course, where are my manners? Must’ve left ‘em back with old Rumple. Right, follow me for the grand tour of this, my humble abode.” He flashed you a mischievous grin and beckoned you forward.  
  
You wandered around the house, peering into the assortment of rooms and being astonished by the eclectic, almost whimsical style of the place. Books were stacked high along hallways, arranged in a ramshackle fashion. Some of the stacks looked like they should have toppled over a long time ago, but were somehow staying upright, possibly through sheer determination alone. “You like to read, huh?”  
  
“Oh yes,” he tapped his head and winked, “Got to keep this sharp…that’s how you stay ahead of those out to fleece you.”  
  
“Out of what?”  
  
“Anything.”  
  
You spent a bit of time in the living room, admiring the dozens of clocks adorning the walls or sitting on dressers and side tables. One particularly magnificent clock took pride of place on the colossal mantel, covered in intricate carvings and accented with gold leaf. You sighed, watching the second hand turn and soothed by its consistency. “Why do you keep so many clocks, Jefferson?”  
  
He stepped over to the fire place and rested his elbow on the mantel. “Because time is the one thing I can rely on, and the one thing I know will carry on regardless, no matter what happens to me.”  
  
“I can’t decide if that’s beautiful or the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”  
  
He took an exaggerated sigh and grinned, “I told you I was a man of many layers.”   
  
He spun around on his heels, his arms out wide, and headed for the door, “On with the tour!” he commanded, pointing his finger in the air.  
  
You giggled and followed him out into the main hallway and up the stairs, your hand gliding up the oak handrail.   
  
He walked up to the first door on the left and wrapped his fingers around the gold knob, his back to the door. “This is where the magic happens…” With a twist of his wrist the door opened to reveal a workshop, filled with hats of every conceivable shape and size. Shelves covered the walls, with some of the finer creations taking pride of place on them. As you stepped inside, you noticed a pyramid of fabric rolls balancing precariously on a chest of drawers, loose pieces of velvet and silk tumbling out of every crevice. “You made all of these?”  
  
“Yes, but it’s just a hobby. I acquired my hat from my father, who did the job before me. That’s how I know Rumpelstiltskin, you see…dad did favours for him for years.”  
  
“I see,” you mumbled, walking around the work table that stood in the centre of the room. Something shiny caught your eye, and you wandered past a half-finished top hat to a collection of cotton reels, threaded onto long curved poles that were anchored to the end of the table. Wound around each reel was the gold thread, glistening in the sunlight, just now starting to fade into night. “I…I don’t understand…” You stood up straight and looked at him, now leaning against the wall.  
  
He shrugged. “I don’t spend it…we’ll not _all_ of it, anyway.”  
  
“But…you’re technically rich. Why…?”  
  
“There’s more to life than money, Rapunzel. I always have enough to be comfortable on my travels, but…I use the rest to make these.” He held his hands out toward the dozens of hats.   
  
“Wow…you know, you’re nothing like how I imagined a man to be.”  
  
“Oh really?” he smirked.   
  
“Uh huh,” you responded, biting your lip and walking back over to him, collecting a bowler hat on your travels and rotating it in your hands. “You’re kind, intelligent, funny… _nothing_ like what Mother led me to believe. The way she put it, I expected the first man I ever met to be boorish, mean-spirited…evil.” You sidled right up to him and dropped the hat onto his head, then touched his nose with your finger, “But you are a wonderful man, who I suspect usually let’s people believe he’s something entirely different.”  
  
You kept your face a few inches away from his, your eyes locked on each other’s. His eyes darted left to right as he rolled his lips, unsure of what to say to you. After a moment of awkward silence, you shook your head and stepped back. “I’m sorry…I don’t know where I was going with that…erm…”   
  
He tilted his head as he continued to look at you. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?” He laughed, shaking his head, “But the truth is…I’m not one of those good men. I’m selfish and greedy and…”  
  
You reached out, placing a finger on his lips. “No. No you’re not. You just said so yourself a minute ago…there’s more to life than money. Those aren’t the words of a greedy man. The way you act around your morally-questionable friends is just that; _an act,_ but I’m not buying it…”   
  
The pair of you stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, just looking at each other, your eyes occasionally darting all over each other’s faces. You were confused by the way you felt, in the presence of this man that you’d only known for half a day. You could’ve sworn you’d known him your entire life, and the fact that you were comfortable enough to accept an invitation to stay in his house made you blush a little. By the time anyone spoke, the night had pushed out the day, and a rumble from Jefferson’s stomach made you both collapse into fits of giggles.  
  
“Guess we should have a little supper and then sleep,” he smiled, side-stepping you and leaving the room.   
  
You stayed put, your ears following the sound of his footsteps disappearing down the stairs as you smiled to yourself. “What are you doing, Rapunzel?”   
  
Supper was delicious, and after sitting around and hatching out a plan for tomorrow’s adventure, Jefferson started blowing out candles and turning off the lamps. Once again, you followed him up the stairs and onto the landing, stopping by a large door two-up from the room of a thousand hats. “A bedroom fit for a princess, me thinks…” he grinned, “Well…maybe not quite, but I’m sure it will be adequate for you.”  
  
“I’m sure it will be wonderful.” You pushed up onto your tiptoes and hesitated before placing a delicate kiss on his cheek, pausing as you moved away to breathe him in. “Thank you for everything, Jefferson. I really mean that.”  
  
He blushed and began fidgeting with the cuffs of his coat. “You’re…you’re welcome, Rapunzel. Goodnight.”  
  
“Goodnight.” You opened the door and stood there, watching him saunter off to what you assumed must be his bedroom. You brought your fingers up to your lips and tried to preserve the feeling of touching his skin. _What is happening?_ You clicked the door closed, pulled the pins out of your hair, breathing a sigh of relief as the golden strands unravelled down your back and along the floor. You took a hairbrush, nightdress and toothbrush out of your little bag, readied for bed, and within seconds of your head hitting the pillow, you were fast asleep.  
  
The next morning you ate breakfast in near silence, the tension between Jefferson and yourself palpable. One of you would lift your gaze toward the other, then immediately avert your eyes when you were about to be spotted. Coupled with the sick feeling in your stomach at the thought of meeting your real family, it made for a slow, awkward start to the day. When he finally spoke, it was to fill you in on a plan he’d thought up last night, whilst unable to sleep.  
  
“Ready” he asked, putting on his finely tailored coat and smiling at you.   
  
You nodded in agreement and stashed some snacks and fruit into your bag and looping it round your wrist.   
  
The sun was shining a little less enthusiastically this morning. _Perhaps it feels nervous for me_ , you wondered. You walked side by side toward the grand oak door that stood lonely at the bottom of the gently sloping lawn, and when you reached it, you went through it together, back into the circular hall of the portal.   
  
“All right…now, your parent’s kingdom is in the same world as the one you came from, but we’re going to jump straight to the outer walls of the village, so we should avoid your… _Mother_ , okay?”  
  
“Yep. Got it,” you replied, eyes forward, hands swinging back and forth as you tried to keep your nerves under control. “Let’s go.”  
  
Jefferson smiled warmly at you, blinking several times as he removed his hat and ushered you back a couple of steps. With a flick of his wrist the hat spun through the air, making the same kind of spectacle that you’d witnessed leaving the forest the day before. Your eyes lit up, and you weren’t sure if you’d ever fail to be impressed by his showmanship, his arms outstretched as the streams of light surrounded him. He held out his hand and you took it without hesitation, leaping into the light with sheer gusto.   
  
The earth coming at you didn’t faze you this time and you both landed smoothly, hands still clasped together. He picked his hat up off the dusty road and patted it clean, coughing once in jest and looking at you.   
  
The scene in front of you left you speechless. As Jefferson had said, you’d landed right by the walls to the kingdom, and your eyes followed the cobbled road you stood on, up along its twisting, turning journey past cute little houses and shops, toward a magnificent castle. There was something in the far distance, just at the point where the road began to climb the hill. You squinted, unsure of what you were seeing, and decided to take a closer look.   
  
“Wait…” Jefferson’s hand landed on your stomach, his fingers splayed. “Get in the bag.”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
“Hand me my snack and get in the bag, Rapunzel.”   
  
As you rifled around inside for it, you heard the faint sound of… _horses?  
  
_ You gave him the snack and he swapped it for his hat, shoving it into your arms and widening his eyes. “Get in, get in.”  
  
Judging by the look on his face, you thought it best not to argue. You dropped the bag on the ground and fell to your knees in front of it, sticking both your hands into the small pouch and widening the opening. It was like crawling into a tent, and from the outside no one would believe their eyes. As you wriggled into the space, it felt perfectly comfortable and within seconds you were completely in.   
  
Jefferson looked down and picked the bag up, only feeling slightly heavier than normal, like someone had dropped a very small paperweight into it for safe keeping. He pulled the drawstring tight and threw it into the thick bracken on the other side of the road, before clasping his hands together behind his back, snack in hand. Just then, the horses came charging round the corner, coming to an abrupt stop at sight of the hatter.  
  
“Fine servants! What a pleasure it is to see you again,” he smirked, doffing an invisible cap to the team of jet black horses, “Oh…and your riders too, I guess.”   
  
The guards grunted in unison, unamused by his insolence.   
  
“Well, well, well,” came a smouldering voice from behind the group. The guards parted to allow a huge dapple-grey horse through, Regina sitting atop, side-saddle.   
  
"If it isn’t everyone’s favourite little helper…hello _Hatter_.”  
  
“Why, Regina, you’re looking more and more wicked every day. What’s your secret? Started eating those hearts in the vault, did you?”  
  
She laughed, dropping her head and wiping away an imaginary tear. “Ahh, Jefferson, you’ve got a way with words, I’ll give you that.” Her horse turned slightly, its feet stomping on the hard ground. “Tell me, what brings you to the kingdom of Alpina?”  
  
He shrugged, “Spun the wheel and this is where it landed.”  
  
“Very funny,” she scowled, glancing around at her guards. “But come on, _this_ place…of _all_ places?”  
  
“What can I say, I love a good castle. Maybe I’ll come visit you in your vast palace one day, huh? It’s the only one I’m missing to complete the set.” He winked at her, rocking back and forth on his heels.  
  
“Okay, enough!” Regina yelled, clicking her fingers. Two guards jumped down from their horses and dropped down onto one knee beside her horse and held a hand aloft each. She smirked at Jefferson and took their proffered hands, stepping off the horse and onto their knees in her sky-high heels. “No more beating around the bush, Hatter…” she stepped up to him, prodding his chest. “I know you helped her…”  
  
“Forgive me, Your Majesty…but, who have I _ever_ helped?”  
  
“Don’t play games with me. You helped Rapunzel escape the tower, didn’t you!?”  
  
“Regina, you should know by now that I’m not one for good deeds…”  
  
“Oh, I know that all too well, Jefferson. But…pretty blonde, big [e/c] eyes…I bet you couldn’t resist rescuing that damsel in distress.”  
  
You winced, listening to this woman, this… _Queen_ , talking about you. Why was she looking for you? You shuffled a little in your cloth hiding place, cursing under your breath when the spiky bracken poked through and pricked you. The view out of the bag was practically non-existent, dark shapes all you could see. It certainly seemed like Regina knew him, though. _That_ was for sure.  
  
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but blondes…not really my thing. I’m more of a brunette kind of man.”  
  
“I know it was you,” she seethed, stepping even closer to him, “My spies couldn’t find sight nor sound of that little ball of sunshine, anywhere in the kingdom. So I thought to myself, who has the ability to leave this world, whenever he wants? Hmm?”  
  
“Erm…” For the first time, Jefferson looks uncomfortable, his eyes darting all over the place…anywhere but Regina’s face. “Okay, fine…I may have helped her out of this land but that’s it. I let her use the portal and she picked a door she liked the look of.” The hand holding the object behind his back started to rotate it nervously.  
  
“Which door?”  
  
He shifted his gaze again and ignored her.

“ _Which door_ , _Hatter?”_ she sneered, “I won’t ask again.”  
  
“I can’t remember…” he muttered, placing a finger on his lips as if lost in thought, the other hand still out of Regina's sight, clutching the snack. “Wonderland? Hmmm, _maybe_. Oz…? No, she didn’t like the idea of running into any lions…” He shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry, Your Majesty, this brain of mine ain’t what it used to be.”  
  
"He’s lying…” Gothel croaked from somewhere amongst the guards horses. She pushed her way through them, her hair now predominantly white and her skin covered in wrinkles and liver spots. “He’s lying, Regina! Make him tell you!”  
  
The Queen pulled a face of disgust and waved her off. “All right, old woman, let me do things my way.”  
  
“ _Make_ him tell you what he knows! Rapunzel is around here somewhere, and he…” she pointed a bony finger in his direction, “...is the only one who can lead us to her.”  
  
"Silence!” Regina shouted, twisting round to Gothel, her long cape spinning round after her in dramatic fashion. “I will handle this! Guards, take her away!”  
  
Three stern-looking men jumped down from their steeds and circled the old woman, taking steps towards her in perfect sync. She flung her arms out, trying to force them back, all while Regina watched, a wicked grin on her face.   
  
“I need to know where she is, Regina! I am dying!”  
  
“Shut up!”  
  
“Ahem…” Jefferson coughed.  
  
"Please don’t consign me to this fate, Your Majesty, please!” Gothel begged, as two of the men grabbed her by the arms and she began to crumble…literally.   
  
Regina and Jefferson’s eyes were wide with equal parts shock and disgust as she continued to disintegrate before them.   
  
“Ew,” Regina whispered.  
  
All you could here now were screams from the woman who had kept you prisoner for all those years and who scared you into thinking that setting foot into the outside world would mean certain death…the woman who had raised you, and taught you how to read. You had a lump in your throat the size of a rock, even if your mind was telling you that this woman deserved what was coming to her. At that moment, you were glad you couldn’t see anything.

 

“Regina… _please_ …” Gothel choked, as her body began to crumble too. “I need Rapunz…”

 

You stuck your fingers in your ears to blank her out, knowing that if you heard he plead one more time you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from climbing out of your prickly hiding place and giving her back her youth.  
  
Regina pouted, “Naww, poor Madame Gothel…” She took a step towards her and lowered her head, “You should’ve kept a tighter grip on your prize.”   
  
Gothel’s eyes grew wide as she gasped at the Queen’s coldness. At that moment, Regina blew a kiss in her direction and the old woman turned to dust, blowing away with the breeze.  
  
Regina licked her lips and brushed a speck of dirt off the shoulder of her cape.  
  
“You know…you probably should’ve listened to her.”  
  
She spun around to face the Hatter again. “What are you talking about?”  
  
He pulled his hand out from behind his back and threw the shiny red apple up in the air. The one that had been sat on the dresser in his kitchen. “I am the only person who knows where Rapunzel is and…I’m…not…” he brought the fruit up to his lips.  
  
Regina stepped forward, her hands outstretched in front of her. “No…”  
  
“..Telling.” He winked and took the biggest bite he could manage, sinking his teeth into the flesh, releasing the juices.   
  
“No!” Regina shrieked, lunging forward just as he tensed up and fell backward, dropping like a log onto the dirt.   
  
You clamped your hand over your mouth, holding back a scream. You were shaking all over. _What had he done? Had he sacrificed himself for you?  
  
_ “Damn you, Hatter!” Regina yelled at him, his face cold. She stood up and glared down at him, kicking up some of the dirt onto his coat. “You haven’t beaten me, Jefferson…oh no. I will find her…whilst you _rest_.” She turned around and stomped back over to her horse, the two guards getting into position to help her mount it.   
  
“Shall we take him, Your Majesty?” one of the men asked.  
  
“No. Leave him to rot.”


	5. Rumplestiltskin's Request part 1

As you watched the horses turn their backs and trot off in the direction they came from, you felt sick. Jefferson was lying motionless on the ground, the poison apple sat by his open hand. When the coast was clear, you began to wrestle your way out of the bag, arms and legs flailing as the cloth wrinkled and snagged on the prickly bracken. You took a deep breath before flinging yourself at the soft wall of the bag, launching your hiding place over the thorns and onto the grass behind, landing with a thud. 

After the world stopped spinning around you, you scrambled out; gasping for fresh air as you stumbled over to him, sliding as your knees hit the dirt. You covered your mouth and shook your head, “No…no…” 

You placed your hands on his face, tears already falling as you stroked his cheek, “Why di…did you do it? I am not worth sacrificing yourself for…” You sniffed, wiping your nose on your sleeve, “Y…y…you don’t even know me.” 

As you stared down at him - the outlines of his features blurred by the constant stream of tears - you were overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and frustration. You managed to tear your eyes away long enough to pick up the apple and hold up in front of his face. “What were you doing with one of these, Jefferson? How did you get it?” You launched it through the air and into the undergrowth, before collapsing against his chest, sobbing.

SOME TIME AGO

“Knock, knock,” Jefferson grinned, poking his head around the door of a stone walled room. 

“Ah, come in Hatter, come in,” Rumpelstiltskin replied, beckoning him in with open arms. “You got my message, then?”

Jefferson walked in, criss-crossing one foot in front of the other. “Of course, and you know me…can’t resist a payday.” He spun his hat on one finger before hanging it up on the hat stand. “So…” he rubbed his hands together, “What do you need?”

“Patience, dear boy. Before we get to all of that, any fine young maidens caught your eye recently?” Rumple asked, wriggling his fingers and grinning.

“What? Oh no…I haven’t the time, Rumple. Too many trips away, I’d never be home.” 

“Shame. A little companionship never hurt anyone.”

Jefferson frowned at the weathered-looking man, then shrugged. “Never mind all that, what’s my task today?”

“I need you to use that little velvet-lined contraption of yours and go to Oz. There’s a girl named Dotty who has something I want…”

“Which is…?”

“They’re red, they sparkle and you can dance a beautiful waltz in them.”

“So…red shiny shoes, then? Got it.” He gave a small bow and spin round, retrieving his hat and plonking it on his head. “I shall return with your treasure, sir!”

“Ah…there is…one more thing you need to know,” Rumpelstiltskin piped up, his finger held aloft.

“Oh?”

“Dotty is…well, she’s a little…” he traced his finger round in a circle by his ear and pulled a face, “…dotty, would you believe? Ever since the old wizard died and she took over, she not been of entirely sound mind.” He stepped over to his spinning wheel and sat down, pressing the pedal and beginning the process of spinning more thread into gold.

Jefferson dropped his shoulders and walked towards him, leaning on the edge of a table and placing a hand on his hip. “So how do I get what you want?”

“With that…” Rumpelstiltskin pointed a knobbly finger just over the hatter’s shoulder, “Offer her a trade.” He returned to his spinning for a moment, before piping up, “Oh…and beware of the cat…” 

Jefferson frowned then turned and picked up the item, nodded at his associate and left, strutting out of the room and down the steps.

After finding a quiet area in which to jump through the hat, he found himself in the portal, staring at the varied collection of doors. The one that lead to Oz was, unsurprisingly, emerald green. Solid emerald, in fact. It glistened, even in the dark circular hall, almost as if it had its own personal light source. 

Jefferson marched over to it, grasped the door knob and opened it, immediately stepping through the doorway and onto the dazzlingly-yellow brick road. Maybe that’s where the light was coming from? He squinted, replacing the hat on top of his head in an attempt to see what lay ahead of him. The land undulated, with the road twisting and turning over it, branching off in all directions. “Huh…that’s new. How’s a stranger like me supposed to follow it if it can’t decide where it wants to take me?” 

He shrugged then set off, heading away from the door. The road seemed to go on for miles, with not another soul insight. Fields of corn bordered it, their bright golden hue blurring the lines between what was road and what was field. A few times, Jefferson found himself drifting off into the tall stems, his eyes deceived by the blinding brightness in front of him. “I hate this place,” he groaned, clambering back onto the bricks. 

As he rounded a bend, he was met with fork in the road. One road lead to what he assumed must be the Emerald City, the other, a dark and miserable path. “Hmm, this seems to easy…”

Stood right in the middle of the two roads was a scarecrow, propped up high on a wooden post. Jefferson threw his arms out and dropped them back down, exasperated. “Now what?”

“Well, that depends entirely on where you want to go…” the scarecrow said, lifting his head up slowly.

“Erm…” Jefferson frowned, pulling his gaze away from the man made of straw.

“Who do you want to see?”

Jefferson smiled and removed his hat, flipping it a few times before spinning it on his finger. “Forgive my surprise, Scarecrow, I was under the impression that you were a free…straw man?”

“Oh, I am, I just choose to stay here, on sentry duty. I steer visitors in the appropriate direction. Now, again, where do you want to go?”

“I have a business proposition for Dotty, courtesy of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“And is there a reason why he can’t do this himself?” the scarecrow enquired, leaning forwards as far as he could on his post.

“Hmm…good question,” Jefferson smirked, “I think people find me more charming…yes, that must be it.”

The scarecrow wrinkled his brow, unimpressed by the hatters reply. 

“Well…maybe it’s just the maidens that appreciate my manner.”

“So, you want to see Dotty. She’s a very busy woman, you know. What makes you think she’ll want to see you?” 

Jefferson took a step closer, laughing under his breath. “I have something I think she’ll like.”

“Fine,” the scarecrow huffed, before nudging his head to the left, towards the foreboding landscape. “Our gracious leader is that way.” 

“Much…obliged, sir,” Jefferson grimaced, tipping his hat and bowing. “Just out of curiosity, does that other way actually lead to the Emerald City?”

“Oh, heavens, no. It’s a cloaking spell. I send the no-good types that way. They don’t often come back.” He offered a wicked grin, his shiny black button eyes shimmering menacingly.

Jefferson shuddered and gave him a weak smile, planted the hat back on his head and shuffled off towards the blackened sky and drizzling rain. 

As he ventured further down the still-dazzling yellow brick road, the corn field petered out, to be replaced by thick black tree trunks. Something caught his eye and drew him towards one particularly solid-looking tree. The bark was covered in scratches, deep and splintered, in groups of five. “What in the world?” A cold breeze whipped up around him, making him shiver and press his hat a little further onto his head. 

He carried on, his journey sound-tracked by crows and howling creatures in the distance. “This better not be a wasted journey, Rumple,” he whispered to himself as he trudged along the road, kicking up dirt. “Who am I supposed to use my charm on? The crows?” He laughed, but fell silent as a house came into view up ahead. 

He slowed his pace, glancing around at yet more scratched trees. He swallowed. The wooden house was large and painted white, with a raised porch running around 3 sides. The windows were covered with dainty-looking net curtains, and a wind chime hung from the porch roof, twinkling melodically as the breeze caught it over and over again. Wind catchers and weather monitoring instruments peppered the ground around it, too. 

Jefferson had only just placed his foot on the first step, when he was knocked backwards into the dirt by a large animal brushing past him. He shook his head and opened his eyes, finding himself face to face with a lion, its head at least five times the size of his. The beast growled at him, chest heaving as the wind blew his magnificent mane around his face.

“Err…hello…?”

He fell silent as the lion roared at him and shuffled its weight, its razor sharp claws curling over the edge of the step.

“Bert…” a woman whispered from the shadowy doorway. 

The lion returned to growling but refused to tear its eyes away from the trespasser. 

“All right, my darling…” the woman murmured, taking a step out onto the porch. As she did this, the dark clouds above blew away with great haste, allowing the sunshine to take hold again. 

Jefferson frowned, looking around. He wanted to get up, but the mysterious woman kept his mind occupied. “Um, hello,” he smiled.

The lion roared yet again, making him jump. The woman covered the distance between herself and the beast then ran her long fingers through his mane, taking a moment to tickle him affectionately behind the ear. She lowered her head to rest sideways on top of his, and the lion began to purr. “Now, now…you’ve done your job, dear Bert. I can take it from here.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek then stood up straight, watching as the animal gave Jefferson another warning stare then slinked off back inside the house. 

“Nice meeting you!” Jefferson shouted back, feeling slightly foolish.

Finally, the woman stepped forward into the light, her vibrant red hair tumbling in waves around her face and down her back. She wore a blue and white gingham dress with dozens of layers underneath that skimmed the floor, and a corset with white buttons down the front. “I’m Dotty. Who are you?” she scowled with her nose up in the air and her hands on her hips.

“Pardon me…” He scrambled to his feet, dusting off his coat and trousers before thrusting his hand out to her, “My name is Jefferson, I work on behalf of Rumpelst…”

“Not again!” she groaned.

To be continued…


	6. Rumplestiltskin's Request part 2

From Part 5

“Pardon me…” He scrambled to his feet, dusting off his coat and trousers before thrusting his hand out to her, “My name is Jefferson, I work on behalf of Rumpelst…”

“Not again!” she groaned.

"Excuse me?”

“Ugh! That man is relentless!” Dotty spun around and headed back inside, much to Jefferson’s confusion. After a minute, she poked her head back around the doorway, “Are you coming in, or what?” 

He gave himself another dusting down before composing himself and starting up the steps, all the while keeping an eye out for the lion, “Beware of the cat…” he mumbled, remembering Rumpelstiltskin’s last words to him, “You don’t say!”

As he stepped over the threshold and into a long hallway, he was taken aback by a row of tin soldiers standing proud against one side. He stopped in front of one and squinted, getting close to its shiny metal face. He exhaled, the condensation hitting the soldier’s cheek, and it huffed loudly before curling a fist and wiping it off. Jefferson jumped backwards, his eyes wide. 

Dotty peered round another doorway, “You busy, or do you want to talk?”

“Sorry, I…I thought they were just…”

“They’re my army. And there are a lot more of them elsewhere. Now come on.” She spun on her heel and stomped out of sight, her hair bouncing behind her. 

Jefferson followed close by, removing his hat as he walked into a vast living space, filled with patterned furniture and polished wood. “You’re in charge now, aren’t you? Since the wizard died?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, bounding over to what can only be described as a throne. She very nearly jumped into the chair, and lifted her legs up and over the arm, crossing them at the ankles and revealing a pair of ruby red heels. They weren’t what he’d expected, which was dainty and cute. These were stilettos, with a heel so sharp as to be deadly. “Why’d you ask?” she grinned.

He gulped, feeling quietly intimidated by her. “Well…why don’t you live in the Emerald City…in the palace?”

She held her arms out and smirked, “There’s no place like home…with a few rudimentary upgrades, of course.”

“Of course,” he whispered back. At that moment, the lion wandered into the room and laid down by the foot of her chair. “Is he your guard…cat, then?”

“Yup, my best friend too. Aren’t you my darling?” she said in a childish voice, leaning over to stroke his head. “Now, let’s not waste anymore of my time, Jefferson. What is that man after now?”

“My employer has need of your shoes, Miss…?”

“Dotty is fine, and why does he need these, hmm?”

“I’m afraid I’m not…privy to that kind of information. I just do the fetching and carrying.”

She wiggled her feet, pointing her toes. “Is that so? Well, too bad for you, Mr. Jefferson. You’ll be going home empty-handed, because these are mine, and he can’t have them.” She sat for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “I mean, can you imagine old withered Rumpelstiltskin wearing them? I’d actually pay good money to see that!”

He dropped his head and laughed, “That would be quite a sight…anyway, I haven’t come here empty handed, Dotty. Perhaps this will make you change your mind…” He dipped his hand in his pocket, retrieving a delicious red shiny apple. 

She sat up, placing her feet back on the floor, “How did you…” She stood up and walked slowly towards him, her hands hovering in mid-air. “I’ve been looking for one of these for months…” 

He dropped the apple into her hands and watched her face, full of shock. “Rumour has it there’s a witch that needs taking care of?”

“Oh yes…” she nodded, lifting her focus back to him, “Oooh, yes. She’s trying to tear Oz apart, but…” She looked at the apple again, cupped in her hands like a precious treasure. “…I’m sorry, I can’t trade.” She thrusted the apple toward him and turned around, clasping her hands behind her back and pacing around him in a circle. 

“But why not?” 

“These shoes are my security…more so than any army of tin men. And the fact that Rumpelstiltskin wants them? Please, that just shows how important they are” She came to a standstill and folded her arms in defiance. “Sorry, Hatter, they’re not for sale.”

“But, Dotty, it’s a great trade…”

“I said no!” 

Bert growled in Jefferson’s direction.

“That’s right, my darling…” she walked over to the animal and crouched down, putting her hands on either side of his face and talking in a childish voice again, “…you tell that big scary man that he can’t have what he wants.” 

Bert growled a little louder, his eyes fixed on the hatter.

Jefferson shifted his weight and spoke, his voice authoritative, “Dotty. You have a problem with a witch who is destroying your land. Look outside…” He held his hand out in the direction of the forest of blackened trees. “It’s creeping towards you, isn’t it? Bert’s private forest of scratching posts. A little more every day, and eventually it will consume this place, along with everything in it. That cloaking spell isn’t going to fool her, either. She knows exactly where you are!” He held up the apple again, “This will make her fall into a deep sleep, and then she can be taken away from this land and dealt with. Don’t you want that?”

“How dare you speak to me like that!” She snarled, rising slowly to her feet, but keeping her back to him. “I don’t need some trumped up errand boy coming into my home and telling me what to do!” She spun round to face him, and suddenly the wind picked up outside, shaking the house as it blew in all directions. The faint sound of the wind chimes could be heard as the house moved. 

Jefferson peered out of the nearest window, to see the weather monitoring systems spinning round and round, almost being ripped out of the dry earth. “Erm…Dotty?”

“Do you even know why Rumpelstiltskin wants my shoes? Huh?!” 

He shrugged, moving to stand in the centre of the room as the walls began to rattle quite violently. “I have no idea…I don’t ask questions.”

“Well maybe you should.” She stepped right up to him and took the hat out of his hands, “They do exactly the same job as this.”

He frowned, and then scoffed awkwardly, “I’m quite sure you’re mistaken.”

“Oh are you, now?” She shoved the hat down onto his head and grabbed his hand before clicking her heels together once...twice...three times. The winds suddenly channelled their energy into a single tornado, making quick work of ripping the roof off the house and grabbing up the two people inside. 

The weather settled, as quickly as it started. They were gone, and the house was back to normal. Bert settled down in front of the throne and gave a sleepy groan.

Jefferson spun through the air and fell onto a polished wooden floor, followed a moment later by Dotty, who landed gracefully. He lifted his head up, only to be faced with a portal, very different in style to his, but a portal just the same. This was bright and airy, and all of the doors looked very inviting. “What…how…”

“Told you,” she smirked. “Each door leads to a different world, as I’m sure you already know…but these lead to very specific places inside each world. A home.”

He climbed to his feet. “Pardon?”

“Ever since I was given these shoes, I’ve been painstakingly traveling throughout these lands, getting to know people…learning to trust them, and vice versa. Now, I have access to their worlds via their homes, so I’ve always got a friendly face and a hot meal to look forward to. And it means I have support, for when the witch makes her move. I’ll be all right.”

“But…why?”

"Oh, Jefferson…” she smiled, “Because as I’ve already told you, there’s no place like home.”

He laughed under his breath, his eyes focused on the quaint little doors; some carved; some painted whimsical colours. It was a welcome change from the doors he was used to walking through that belonged to no-one in particular, and felt almost like an advertisement for the land you would enter on stepping through. These looked lived-in and cosy…

“So if I give these shoes to you, and you give them to Rumpelstiltskin…he has no need for you. He’ll be able to travel anywhere he wants, anytime…” She lifted her hand and stroked his ear, “Wouldn’t that be a shame for you…”

“You’re right,” he sighed, “I…I need this job. Rumple is my main source of income…If he has access to a portal, I’m finished.” He took a deep breath and looked at her, “So what do we do?”

“Tell him the shoes weren’t here. Tell him they’d been moved to another land. That should hold him off, at least for a while.” 

“And the apple?”

“The scarecrow ate it,” she laughed, nudging him with her shoulder, “He fell asleep on his post for an hour, then the crows started pecking at him and he woke up.”

He frowned.

"What? He's not human, the poison won't affect him like it would you or I."

“Okay…good plan.” He opened his palm and looked at the fruit, shining in the light of the room. "So would you like it anyway, to help with your witch problem?"

She shook her head, “No, you keep it. It might come in handy, one day.” She offered him a genuine smile for the first time, and her face lit up. "Think of it as a little thank you for not prising these shoes off my feet."

He chuckled, then his face turned serious. “Do you ever get lonely, Dotty?”

“No," she said emphatically, "I have Bert, and my many tin men, and my scarecrow…I have all the company I need, and no time to wallow. Besides, I have a war to prepare for. Do you get lonely?”

“Sometimes. Travelling is a solitary business.” He coughed then turned to face her, “Well, anyway, it’s been a…pleasure,” he grinned, bobbing his head. “I will tell Rumple that the shoes are in another land, and that the apple was lost, and hopefully I won’t be sent back to bother you again, anytime soon.”

She nodded her head then lent forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you Jefferson, I will remember your goodness, always.”

“Well…don’t tell anyone about it, whatever you do. I have a reputation to uphold, y’know.” He winked at her and looked around. “So…any of these doors lead to the magic realm?”

“Of course,” she grinned, kicking her dress out and showing off the sparkling red shoes underneath. She beckoned him over to a weathered oak door, “This leads to Granny and Red’s cottage. I don’t think anyone’s likely to be home at this time, though, so go on through. And if you do see them, say hi, for me, would you?”

He nodded. “Thank you,” he smiled, “And you say goodbye to Bert for me, okay? I'm going to miss that beast.” 

She scoffed and gave him a light punch on the arm before opening the door and pushing him through. “Goodbye, Hatter! And don't shy away from love! The woman you need could be just around the corner!”

As Jefferson stepped out of Granny’s house and into the cold forest, he pulled his collar up around his neck and set off back towards Rumpelstiltskin’s house, making sure that the apple was safely and inconspicuously tucked away.

Xxx

You must’ve laid across Jefferson’s chest for a good few minutes before you felt him take a breath. Your eyes flung open as you pulled back, watching his face. “You’re…not dead?” 

Without taking a second to think, you were tugging your hair loose from its heavy braid and wrapping it around him, across his shoulders and over his body. You closed your eyes for a moment, unsure of whether this would actually work at all, and then began humming a soft melody. The golden strands began to illuminate, from the root to the tip, lighting his face up in the process. The hum turned into sweet lyrics, almost whispered, through the last of your tears. The light from your hair seemed to pulse, as your singing grew in resonance. 

Jefferson took another breath, his eyes now starting to flutter and his fingers twitching lightly. You sang the entire song, there on that dusty road, but he didn’t wake. The smile that had begun to spread across your face seeped away, staring at his still sleeping face. You covered your mouth again, tears cresting your eyes. “Please wake up…J…Jefferson. Please…” You stuttered as you took in more air, and then blew it out, looking around for any signs of help. You were alone. “Please wake up…I need you…” You brushed some strands of hair away off his forehead then held your hand against his cheek. Your bottom lip quivered as you lowered your head down to him and placed a soft but cautious kiss on his lips, lingering for a moment. 

His eyes slowly opened, then fell closed again as he lost himself in your kiss. He wriggled his fingers before sliding them up into your hair, and you reciprocated by parting your lips ever so slightly and lifting your shoulders, your hands cupping his face. The kiss seemed to last forever, and by the time you pulled away, he was wide awake and smiling. 

“I thought you were dead,” you whispered breathlessly, resting your forehead against his.

“Me too…well, I thought I was in heaven,” he smirked, still running his hands through your hair. 

You laughed as he sat up and pulled you onto his lap, your feet over one side of him. “You weren’t pretending to be asleep so I’d kiss you, were you?”

“Who, me? No.” He pulled your hair around one side of your neck and draped it over your shoulder, placing a kiss on the other. “So…magic hair, huh?”


	7. A Kiss, A Homecoming and An Unexpected Visitor

“ _Magic...hair..._ ” you whispered, your eyes dancing as you looked at him.   
  
“That’s different. Can I…erm, ask a question?” Jefferson smirked and leaned to one side, looking behind you at the stream of golden strands covering the ground, “Are you allergic to scissors?”  
  
“No…” you chuckled, spotting traces of dirt in his hair and brushing them off, “Mo…sorry, _Gothel_ , said that if I cut it I’d lose my magic.” You shrugged.  
  
“And you don’t _want_ to lose your magic?”  
  
“I hate lugging the weight around, that’s for sure, but…if I’d cut it, I couldn’t have woken you up, now, could I?”  
  
He ran his hand up the side of your neck and behind your head, pressing his lips against yours. You responded by grasping hold of his coat collar, pulling him closer to you. When you parted, he smiled, “Thank you, Rapunzel.”  
  
“Don’t mention it.” You gathered your hair in your lap and neatly plaited it, then twisted the long braid into a bun, pulling pins out of your bag to secure it.   
  
“Well, now that I am awake, it’s probably a good idea to get up out of the dirt.”   
  
You stood up and held your hands out to him, pulling him up with all your strength. He fell against you, feeling slightly uneasy on his feet, “Whoa, careful Hatter,” you smiled, placing one hand behind his back and the other on his chest, “Easy does it.”  
  
“Phew…I can’t lie; I’m glad that’s over and done with.” He took his hat from you and looked around for any signs of life. Satisfied they weren’t being watched by any of Regina’s henchmen, he placed it on his head and turned to you. “Shall we go and meet the parents, then?”  
  
“Yes,” you nodded, retrieving your bag from the side of the road and coming back to him, wrapping your arm around his waist and letting him lean on you.   
  
The pair of you set off down the cobbled road towards the small kingdom of Alpina. The name must’ve come from the thick forest that surrounded the solitary hill that the kingdom sat on. As you ventured further down the long road, Jefferson leaning against you for support, you felt a sense of safety wash over you, which was strange, because what better place for undesirables to hide than in a group densely packed pine trees?   
  
A few steps later and Jefferson huffed, “I…I think I’ll be ok now, Rapunzel. The world isn’t spinning anymore.”   
  
You gingerly let go of him and took a step back, observing his stance. He took a deep breath before grinning at you and grabbing you by the waist, his lips falling on yours. You instantly relaxed, your arms hanging down as he dipped you. When he pulled away, you were breathless. “My, my, you’re getting comfortable, already, aren’t you?”  
  
“Yep…” His eyes searched your face, his arms still dipping you. “…so long as it’s what you want, of course.”  
  
“It is.”  
  
“You sure? I don’t want to assume that that kiss earlier on meant more to me than…”  
  
“Jefferson,” you whispered, touching his lips with your finger, “Shut up and kiss me again.”  
  
Without hesitation he pulled you nearer, your eyes falling closed as your lips met. Your fingertips stroked the side of his face, before reaching up and taking the hat off his head and placing it on your own. One of you - you weren’t sure which - started giggling, causing the other to burst out laughing too and pull away. You stared at each other, alternating between blushing and laughter, unsure of what else to say.   
  
“Hey, that’s mine,” Jefferson grinned, pointing at the oversized hat sitting at a jaunty angle on your head.  
  
You pressed it down a little further and nodded, “I had to save it from falling off your head, mister. I was doing you a favour.”  
  
He gave you a side-eyed look and smirked, “All right, I see…”  
  
You carried on down the road, stealing light kisses  from each other every now and then. _I could get used to this_ , you thought to yourself. Your eyes shifted to his face occasionally, and you were taken aback by how handsome he was. His dark hair framed his sharp features very nicely, and his eyes…well, they were as blue as a cloudless sky, and twice as mesmerizing. Butterflies soared around your stomach, their numbers increasing with every step you took, which was a strange, but very welcome feeling. When he stepped a little closer to you, his hand edging towards yours until he finally plucked up the courage to intertwine his fingers with yours, you let out an involuntary gasp, then covered your face with your other hand.  
  
“You okay?” he asked, bobbing his head down to catch your focus.  
  
“Mm hmm,” you replied, spinning your head round to face him. Your cheeks were flushed. “I…I’m just not used to…this.” You lifted your connected hands up and dropped them back down.  
  
“I know, that’s why I hesitated. I don’t want to scare you, darling…”  
  
Your mouth dropped open at his last word, and you ground to a halt, your body turned towards him. “You…you called me d… _darling?_ ”  
  
He bit his lip and dropped his gaze for a moment, “I hope that’s okay?”  
  
“Y…yes, absolutely…yes, it…I, erm.” You slammed your eyes shut, shaking your head as you heard yourself stumbling over your words. “I love it…”  
  
His features softened. “Thank goodness, because it just came to me and it seems so…perfect for you.”  
  
You covered what little distance there was left between you and took his other hand in yours, “You are perfect for me, Jefferson…” You shared another passionate kiss, then rested your forehead against his, “Y’know…this was supposed to be a relatively short walk to the kingdom…”  
  
“I know but…life gets in the way, sometimes, huh?”  
  
“Sure does.” You winked at him then set off again, your hands still together. “So, you said you’ve done business here in the past?”  
  
“Yep, I’ve been called upon to fetch things for the King a couple of times.”   
  
“Oh? What’s he like?”  
  
“He’s a good man, very sad, but a good man.”  
  
You looked ahead at the distance left to travel. You were close, the imposing stonewall beginning to block out the sun.   
  
“Sad, in what way? Because of me, do you think?”  
  
“I guess so, makes sense. Of course, at the time I had no idea you even existed, but there was definitely something very…contemplative about everything he did. Almost as if he was trying his hardest to be a good King, in the hope that would mean he deserved something good in return. Or, _to_ return…”  
  
“Are you sure this is where I’m from? How do you know?”  
  
“Because on the way back from my trips up to the castle, I would see these posters pinned up outside all of the shops and market stalls, in the windows of the little cottages…posters asking for help in finding the royal child. They were someone's idea of what shemight look like now. She was beautiful, with long hair and big expressive eyes. The first time I caught sight of you, stood against that tree hiding from me, I knew I’d seen you before, yet we hadn’t met…”  
  
“So you put two and two together…”  
  
“Yep, and believe me, I never forget a face.” He smiled at you and kissed your hand. “So if we just head straight up to the…” You both walked full speed into an invisible wall, falling backwards onto the dusty road. “What on earth?” Jefferson pulled you up and took a step forward, reaching his hand out toward the gateway of the kingdom. A shimmering light ran across the opening and his hand landed on solid, empty space.   
  
"What’s going on? Is it…glass?”  
  
“No,” he mumbled, sliding his fingers across the smooth, transparent surface. “No…this is a spell of some kind.”  
  
“A spell? To keep people in or…out?”  
  
“Both, I suspect.” The light shimmered again, the faint sound of twinkling bells following it. “Bizarre. I haven’t seen this since Aurora…”  
  
“Who?”  
  
Jefferson opened his mouth to speak, but before any sound could come out, an old couple shuffled out of the house closest to the wall.   
  
“Who are you?” the old man asked as the approached the gateway.  
  
“We’re here to see the King and Queen,” Jefferson responded, standing up straight and puffing his chest out. “We have news for them.”  
  
“Too bad, we’re closed. Come back next week,” the old man said. You couldn’t tell if he was joking, or slightly absentminded.   
  
“Now, now Victor, don’t be like that,” his companion chided, a sweet smile on her face. She looked at you, “I’m Marjorie. Forgive my husband, he doesn’t like this…” She pointed at the shimmering barrier.  
  
“What is it? Who did it?” You asked, taking a step closer.  
  
“It’s a protection spell. The King had it cast just yesterday.”  
  
“Yesterday? Why?” Jefferson frowned.  
  
“Rumour had it that royal witch Regina was coming to destroy Alpina, so the King did what he had to do. Nobody likes it…”  
  
“Everybody _hates_ it!” her husband growled, throwing his arms up in the air.   
  
“Ahem, _as I was saying_ , nobody likes it, but we don’t want to see our homes razed to the ground by that unhinged woman. Someone does her hair wrong and she sets their entire village on fire. The King brought that Rumpelsti… _whatever_ , to protect us.”  
  
“Really?” Jefferson’s frown seemed to set in deeper, which worried you. “Any idea what his terms were, or when it’s going to be released? I have extremely important news for his Royal Highness.”  
  
“Oh, no. You see, that’s part of the deal. The kingdom is protected, but the King cannot set foot outside the castle…in fact, I’ve heard word that he might be under some kind of sleeping spell, too. Just to add insult to injury…though I’ve no idea why.”  
  
"That’s probably got something to do with…”  
  
“Ahhhhh!” Jefferson yelled, holding his hands out to you and pulling you back slightly. “Well, thank you very much for your time, and information Marjorie…Victor. It’s been extremely informative. Good day to you both.”  
  
“Eh, darn youths…” the old man grumbled, waving you off and trundling back into his house.  
  
“Gosh, 40 years I’ve been stuck with that grouch, but hey, love is blind. Good day, I hope we’ll see you here again someday, when this _thing_ is gone.”  
  
“I’m sure you will,” Jefferson smiled, before she wandered off and the pair of you turned around and took a few steps back down the road.   
  
“What was that all about? Why did you stop me speaking?”  
  
“Rumpelstiltskin…”  
  
“What about him?”  
  
“Magic comes with a price…”  
  
“That’s what Mo… _Gothel_ used to say.”  
  
“The King needed to protect his people from Regina, because she knows you’d eventually come here to be reunited with your family, and she doesn’t want that.”  
  
“Is that why she turned up earlier?”  
  
“Definitely. Just pure luck that she ran into us...me." He scowled to himself and continued. "So the King asks Rumple for help, and he obliges, on condition that the Royal household is kept away from outsiders…He knows about you! Oh goodness…”  
  
“What? Is that a bad thing?”  
  
“Depends…he obviously doesn’t want you meeting your family, either…”  
  
“Is he working with Regina, do you think?”  
  
Jefferson shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip. “I highly doubt it. He and I sort of…well, _duped_ Regina, not too long ago. And before that, I may have done the same to him.”   
  
“Oh. So what do we do now?”  
  
“Get away from here, and hope that no one is watching us right now.” He pulled the hat off your head and squeezed your shoulders, “Where shall we go?”  
  
“I think I know a place where we’ll be safe for a while.”  
  
“All right, then. Let’s go.”   
  
The hat was set in motion, hands clasped together, eyes transfixed on one other. A leap of faith followed, with a soft landing on a hardwood floor in a bright, circular room. A _very_ _familiar_ , circular room.  
  
 **Storybrooke**  
  
 _Knock, knock, knock.  
  
_ “Ugh…who’s that?” Jefferson growled to himself.  
  
 _Knock, knock, knock_  
  
"Okay, okay!" He pushed up off of his white cushioned couch and sauntered out of the living room, to the front door, rubbing his temples at the pounding headache that had been lingering in for hours. The house echoed; a mansion filled with loneliness.  
  
He grasped the doorknob and twisted it, the harsh light of the early morning sun seeping into the hallway as he pulled the door open.  
  
“Jefferson, my dear man.”  
  
“Gold? What the hell do you want?” he responded, his eyes nearly shut as the light assaulted his senses.  
  
“Aren’t you going to invite me in, first?” Gold responded, leaning forward on his cane and peering inside. A large silver telescope stood proud by the window in the dining room, facing next door. “Looks like you could do with the company.”  
  
“I don’t have time for this, old man.”  
  
“Ah, but I think you do.”


	8. Love and Loss

Jefferson dropped his head and exhaled loudly, before stepping back against the open door and beckoning his visitor inside. As Gold hobbled past him, it took all of his strength to resist sticking a leg out and tripping up the nosy man. He peered out onto the empty street then closed the door, turning around and holding his arms out.  
  
“What is it, then?”  
  
Gold shuffled on the spot, his eyes wandering into the rooms either side of him. “Come on, Jefferson, do you treat all your guests with this much hostility?”  
  
“Just the ones I don’t like…” Jefferson growled, storming past him towards the kitchen. He headed for a bulbous shiny black kettle that sat on the stove on an island in the middle of the vast room, filling it with water and turning the heat on. The click-click-clicking of Gold’s cane hitting the hardwood floor drove him insane, and he rolled his eyes just at the moment the man entered the room.   
  
“I’m sensing a lot of anger towards me, son,” Gold said through gritted teeth. “Have I done something to upset you?”  
  
“Not recently…” Jefferson whispered under his breath, his back turned. Movement in the garden over the wall caught his attention; a young girl playing with two other children. She looked happy, chasing her playmates around a large oak tree and chuckling when she caught them. Jefferson rolled his lips and wiped a tear away before returning to his awkward conversation. “No…no you haven’t. You just remind me of someone who did, that’s all. Tea?”  
  
“Yes, please.” Gold watched him retrieve two black china mugs from a cabinet, followed by a matching teapot. He added the perfect amount of tealeaves for two, then reached for the now loudly whistling kettle and poured the boiling water into the pot. “So what have you been up to, recently?”  
  
Jefferson slammed the kettle back down and leant against the countertop, head bowed. “Enough with the chit-chat, Gold! Why are you here? Look around this place, there’s nothing ancient enough to be in your dusty old shop! What do you want?” After letting the tea infuse for a minute, he filled up both cups and slid one towards Gold, who caught it just in time.  
  
“I’m not here for trinkets, Jefferson…far from it. I’m actually here to help you.”  
  
“Help me?” Jefferson scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous.”  
  
“Tell me…” Gold wrapped his fingers around the mug and rested against the countertop. “How’s that daughter of yours…Grace, I think her name is?”  
  
Jefferson froze, his eyes wide at the mention of her name. “How do…”  
  
“You remember everything, don’t you, boy?”  
  
“I…erm…I…” Jefferson fell back against the sink, his breath coming in gasps as his focus shifted erratically around the room. “You do…too? You still remember who you…are?”  
  
Gold nodded, “The spell didn’t work on me. But I get the feeling it wasn’t _meant_ to work on you…hmmm?” He flashed a wicked grin then took a sip.  
  
“That was your fault!” Jefferson shouted, his hand slamming against the draining board. “Regina hates me because of what _you_ made me do!”  
  
Gold held his hands up, “Now, now, _dearie_ …you were very willing to help, if my memory serves me well, which we _both_ know it does,” he winked.  
  
“My punishment was to remember, everything.  What I did to her…leaving Grace, Ra...Rap…” The name caught in his throat and he shook his head, sadness consuming him even more. “My…darling.”  
  
“Ahh, yes, the heavenly Rapunzel, she of golden hair and [e/c] eyes…of delicate, dainty hands and magic and wonder and…love. _Ugh!_ Overrated, as far as I’m concerned, but hey, we all need something to get us through the lonely nights.” He shuffled round the island, limping as his cane supported his frame. “I bet she kept you warm, didn’t she, Jefferson…and safe, with that magic hair. Too bad how it ended, huh?”  
  
“Shut up!” Jefferson screamed, grabbing Gold by the throat and pinning him against the wall. “You’ve no right to talk about her like that, Rumpelstiltskin! After _everything_ I did for you, all those errands you had me run,” he seethed, “…All those times I risked my life retrieving your precious knick-knacks, and when we needed help in return…well, we know how that ended. Grace without a mother and me without the love of my life.”  
  
Gold licked his lips, a look on his face which made it appear as if he were enjoying this conversation immensely. “Aww, poor sad, lonely Jefferson, all alone in his big mansion, with no one to love.”  
  
Jefferson’s grip tightened as he slammed Gold’s head against the wall, “You come here just to antagonise me, old man?”  
  
“What if I told you she was here…in Storybrooke.”  
  
“What, Grace? I know she is,” he pointed a finger towards the window, “Regina made sure I had a good view of her life without me.”  
  
“No. _Nooo_ , Hatter. Think…who have we just been talking...about?” Gold spluttered, trying to prise the fingers away from his throat. “What if I told you your…darling Rapunzel was…here, amongst these fairy-tale _morons_ , living a life of blissful ignorance.”  
  
Jefferson’s eyes widened as his hand relaxed, allowing Gold to take a breath. He ran his fingers through his hair, his body restless. “What?! How do you know?”  
  
“I have my ways.”  
  
Jefferson spun round and grabbed him again, slamming him against the wall, “Where is she? Tell me!”  
  
“Ah, ah, ah…” Gold wiggled his finger, “I think there’s someone else in this town who can answer that question much better than I.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Our exalted Mayor, of course.”  
  
Jefferson shook his head and let go, watching Gold fall into a crumpled heap on the floor.   
  
His mind wandered back to the first kiss he shared with you. He could still smell the sweet fragrance of your hair, and the way the light bounced off the strands of purest gold. He covered his mouth, unashamed of the emotions that were pouring out of him in this moment. His eyes were glossy with tears, his bottom lip quivering. The warmth of your embrace enveloped him, and he saw you, as clear as day in front of him, holding baby Grace in your arms; your eyes tired, but full of life. The happy memories were suddenly shattered by dark shadows, rushing in front of his eyes. The details were a blur, but you were gone. He covered his face with both hands and exhaled. There were too many thoughts racing through his mind.  
  
Gold rubbed his neck and clambered to his feet, then took a wary step towards the broken man. “Regina knows everything…” he whispered, “When she cursed us, she cursed _everyone_. She knows their names…where they were placed in the town. Go to her, ask her. She has all the answers.”  
  
Jefferson lifted his head, stuttering through the remnants of his sorrow. “Why are you telling me all of this? What’s in it for you?”  
  
“Am I not allowed to do a favour for a friend?”  
  
“Maybe, if that’s what we were, but we’re not friends. _Why_ are you telling me this?”  
  
“Look around you, Hatter. None of this is real, not to _us_ , and none of it is right, either. I want to go home just as much as you do, and believe me, if I knew the love of my life was somewhere in this town, I’d be there quicker than you could say _abracadabra_.”   
  
Jefferson nodded, and then stood up. “All right…I’m going to see her.”  
  
Gold slapped him on the arm, “That’s the spirit, boy. Go and find your darling.”  
  
Jefferson stormed out of the kitchen, not even breaking stride as he picked up his coat. He flung the door open and threw the leather and velvet coat that you loved over his shoulders and set off in the direction of the Mayor’s house.  
  
 **The Enchanted Forest  
  
** Light poured into your familiar surroundings, covering everything in a warm glow and softening the sharp edges. Jefferson stood on one side, his attention focused on the vast painting that covered almost every inch of the wall. “You…did all of this?” he whispered, looking over his shoulder in your direction.  
  
“Yep…” you sighed, leaning against the opposite wall, your hands clasped behind your back. “When you spend every second of your life in one place, you learn to make the best of it.”  
  
“Clearly.” He twisted around to face you, removing his hat and placing it on the large oak table in the middle of the floor, before inching closer to you. “Why did you bring us here?”  
  
“I don’t know…call it insanity, I suppose. Despite everything that’s happened, I feel safe here. No one knows this tower exists…” He took another step towards you. Breathing normally was suddenly quite the challenge, the closer he got.   
  
“We’re safe, then…?”  
  
“Uh huh,” you managed.   
  
“So…erm, we won’t be disturbed?”  
  
You shook your head, feeling your cheeks begin to burn as he closed the gap between you.  
  
“You’re so beautiful when you blush, Rapunzel,” he laughed, running the back of his hand down your face.   
  
You shifted your weight, your eyes locked on his. “Erm…y…you know, you’re the first man ever to set foot in this room.”  
  
“Really?” he teased. “And how do you feel about that?”  
  
"Happy,” you murmured, your hands fidgeting ferociously behind your back.  
  
He leaned in, his mouth hovering just in front yours. “That’s good then,” he whispered as a grin spread across his face.   
  
You closed your eyes and lifted your chin up ever so slightly, until your lips were so close to his that every breath he expelled made them tingle with anticipation. “What are you doing, Jefferson?” you breathed, the corners of your mouth curling upwards.  
  
He brushed some lose strands of hair away from in front of your eye, then gazed at you. “Whatever you want me to…”  
  
You licked your lips and placed your hands on his chest, unbuttoning his coat and sliding it off his shoulders. Yours eyes met and you flashed a mischievous grin at him, which made his mouth drop open.   
  
“Rapunzel…darling,” he sighed, his hand running under your chin and behind your ear as he dropped a delicate kiss on your neck, “Are you…”  
  
You gently pushed him backwards, his eyes transfixed as you pulled a ribbon behind your back, loosening your dress. You slid your arms out of the sleeves, allowing the top to fall around your waist, revealing a beautifully embroidered corset.   
  
You held an open hand out to him. His fingers glided into yours, his eyes displaying his excitement as you walked around him and tugged him to follow you. He needed no encouragement, trailing close behind, your hands interlocked as you led him up the sweeping staircase that hugged the wall, and into your bedroom. You released him and turned, standing with your back to the bed. He stepped up close, his hands all over you, and his lips touching every inch of your skin. You giggled as the butterflies returned with gusto, taking flight inside you as he continued, his hands tugging at the straps, more kisses dropped along your shoulder. “Jefferson…” you sighed, running your fingers through his hair.  
  
“Yes?” he replied, lifting his head away from your neck for a moment to look into your eyes.  
  
“I…I think I love you.”  
  
He beamed, “I loved you the moment I saw you.”  
  
Your eyes sparkled as joyful tears welled up, “So what are we waiting for?” You pulled the long pins out of your hair, allowing the waves to tumble down your back and onto the bed.   
  
His eyes flashed as you climbed backwards onto the soft quilt and kicked your shoes off. He crawled onto the bed, his hand sliding up your legs and settling at your waist. “Oh, darling,” he sighed, looking down on you, “I know I’ve already said it but…I love you, _so_ much...”  
  
You nodded impatiently and grabbed his face, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. “I know; I know…now, care to show me?”  
  
 **Storybrooke  
  
** “Skye?” Emma bellowed as she walked into the studio and unravelled her scarf, dropping it on the edge of your desk. “Hello?”  
  
“Up here,” you mumbled from your hiding place, high up on a walkway in the apex of the roof. You could hear bursts of conversation; your voice and a man’s. The tone was soft…romantic, and now and then you saw flashes of light, of lips touching bare skin. You were giggling, your eyes falling closed as he hovered above you, your senses heightened…  
  
“Hi…” Emma frowned, standing below you craning her neck. “Everything all right?”  
  
“Mm hmm…” you sighed, losing sight of the memories. “I like sitting up here, looking out of the roof light at the world outside…makes me feel safe, y’know what I mean?”  
  
“I do, absolutely. Want some company?”  
  
You nodded and directed her to the stairs. A few seconds later, she was lowering herself onto the cold galvanized metal floor, dangling her feet over the edge next to you. “You sure you’re all right, Skye? You look like you’re…” she closed her eyes, imagining Henry’s grinning face if he could hear her now, “…in another world.”  
  
“What? No…no, I’m just thinking about my painting. Where might it be? Who took it? It's just strange.”  
  
“Yeah, about that…” Emma retrieved a notebook from her bag and flipped it open to the relevant page. “I’m drawing a blank at the moment, I’m afraid. I’ve canvassed the town, even spoke to Mr. Gold, and no one has seen it.   
  
“Oh, I guess I should probably move on then…no point dwelling on it, is there?”  
  
“I’m going to keep looking, Skye…This painting means a lot to you, I could tell when you came to the Sheriff’s office. I won’t give up.”  
  
“Thanks Emma.” You turned back to the view through the roof light. The waves were lapping against the pebble shoreline beyond the other white weatherboard huts, and a fishing boat bobbed up and down on the horizon, now bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. You sighed. “Do you ever have those moments when you feel like you’re living someone else’s life? Like you’re literally looking through someone else’s eyes?”  
  
Emma shuffled forward and folded her arms on the railing. “No, I…can’t say that I have. Do you feel like that very often?”  
  
You shook your head, “Only recently. Since my painting went missing, in fact. It’s just a coincidence, I’m sure.”  
  
“I don't think it is, you know. Something was stolen from you, so you’ve been through a trauma…”  
  
You scoffed.  
  
“I’m _serious_. No matter the size of the object, it’s still a violation. And you seem to have had a real connection to that particular painting, so it makes sense that your mind would run away with you. But you _will_ get through it, and these out-of-body experiences will stop.”  
  
"Okay, that does make sense, I suppose. Thanks for the pep talk, Emma.”  
  
She placed a hand on yours and smiled warmly, “Not a problem. If you ever need another, you’ve got my number.” She gave your hand a gentle shake then got back on her feet and returned the notebook to the bag. “All right, well, I’m going to continue on the investigation, so I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”  
  
“Thanks again. See you soon.”  
  
Xxx  
  
Jefferson leapt up the front steps to Regina’s house two at a time, shoving the door open and heading straight for the dining room. “Regina, where is she?!”  
  
Henry gasped and looked at him, wide eyed, peas rolling off his dropped fork and onto the floor.   
  
Regina stared at the unwelcome visitor, and then looked at the boy. “Well, good evening to you, too, Jefferson.”  
  
He stood frozen on the spot, breathing heavily through his nose. “Where…is…she?”  
  
“Henry, why don’t you go up to your room and get started on your homework?” Regina smiled as she neatly placed her cutlery on her dinner plate.  
  
He nodded his head and stood up, walking tentatively past Jefferson who hadn’t taken his eyes off Regina for a second. When Henry was clear of the brooding man, he picked up the pace, running at full speed up the stairs and opening his bedroom door.  
  
“Now…did you want to know something, Jefferson?” Regina smirked.  
  
Henry closed the door, then crouched down on the landing, just able to see the top of Jefferson’s head. He leant forward to listen.  
  
“Where is she, Regina?! I won’t ask again!”  
  
“Where’s who?” She stood up and began gathering up the plates and glassware. “You know you’d do well to stop speaking in riddles, _Hatter_.”  
  
He growled and slammed his fist against the nearest wall. “Enough! Where is Rapunzel? I know she’s here.”  
  
Henry shuffled his weight on hearing that name. “ _Rapunzel_ ,” he muttered to himself.  
  
Regina laughed, “I’m quite sure there’s no one by that name here, Jefferson. Have you been reading bedtime stories to Grace?”  
  
“How dare you speak her name!"  
  
Regina jumped, her face losing all trace of glee for the situation. "Like I said, there's no one by that name here, Hatter."  
  
"Don’t even try to play that trick with me, Regina. Gold told me she’s here in Storybrooke, so…”  
  
“Oh, _Gold_ told you, did he? Well, that’s a trustworthy source, if I ever heard one.”  
  
He walked slowly towards her, disappearing from Henry’s sight and pinning her against the table. “I trust him a lot more than I trust you,” he snarled, watching her face intently. “Now tell me…where...is...she?”


	9. Shock and Aww

Regina looked Jefferson up and down, her mouth curling into a wicked grin. “Wow…not so smug now, are we?”  
  
“I paid for my mistakes, Regina, you made sure of that…but this is…”  
  
“This is _what?_ Are you stupid, Hatter?! Did you _really_ think she’d get left behind?!”  
  
He rolled his lips and took a step away from her, “So she _is_ here…”  
  
“Of course she is! When I instigated the curse I took everyone with me, erasing their memories of their other lives and setting us all down in this miserable place!” She folded her arms and shook her hair out, “Well…erasing _some_ people’s memories, anyway.”  
  
His hands clenched into fists as he turned away and back again. “Did you…does she…remember too?” he spluttered, the words getting caught in his throat.  
  
“No.” She licked her lips and planted her hands on her hips, her eyes boring into him. “She doesn’t remember a thing. Not you. Not Grace. Nothing.”  
  
Henry gasped, and then clamped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to silence himself. Regina frowned.  
  
A solitary tear ran down Jefferson’s cheek as he absorbed her words. He felt sick. “All this time…we’ve been living in the same town? And…and…aside from that…” His sadness was suddenly overwhelmed by a seething anger bubbling to the surface. “She is a _mother!_ Are you really that cruel?” He stepped towards her again. “You had no reason to punish her for _anything_ , let alone keep her from her child!”  
  
“I had _every_ reason, Jefferson! Every damn one! Her association with _you_ was the very best one!”  
  
“You heartless b…”  
  
 _Knock, knock, knock  
  
_ They both fell silent and turned to face the imposing door beyond the hallway. Henry sunk down onto his stomach, his eyes just peeking over the landing. Regina plastered on a smile, then walked over to open the door, just as another knock resonated.   
  
“Emma…” Regina smiled sweetly, “How lovely to see you.”  
  
“ _It is?”_ Emma frowned, “Erm…sorry, hello Regina. Have you got a minute?”  
  
Jefferson stepped up to the doorway, and loomed down over both, his glare aimed squarely at Regina. “This isn’t over…”   
  
“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” she smirked.  
  
He turned to Emma and gave a short nod.  
  
“Jefferson,” she responded, spinning round to watch as walked between the women and stomped off down the street. “What did he want?”  
  
“I’m pretty sure that’s none of your business.”  
  
“Oh, erm…sorry. It’s just, the last time I saw him he was falling out of a window.”  
  
“Did you want something, Emma?” Regina groaned, folding her arms and leaning against the door.  
  
“Yes…” Emma mumbled, still focused on Jefferson’s lonely figure disappearing into the dusky evening. “I’m investigating the theft of a piece of art, from Skye’s studio down by the docks…”  
  
"Oh, really?” Regina frowned. “What painting?”  
  
Emma opened her bag and rummaged around, “I should have a sketch of it…somewhere in…here…” She dropped her shoulders and grumbled. “I must’ve left it in Gold’s store when I went to talk to him earlier. Sorry…I can bring it round later, if you could take a look at it, for me?”  
  
“Fine,” Regina huffed. “Anything else?”   
  
“No…I don’t think so. I’ll come back aro…”  
  
Regina flashed an impatient smile and slammed the door shut, missing Emma’s nose by an inch.  
  
“It’s been a pleasure as always, Madam Mayor,” Emma whispered. She rolled her shoulders and turned back onto the narrow path back to the road, her yellow VW parked by the kerb.   
  
“Psst…”  
  
She glanced round, her eyes darting all over the façade.  
  
“Emma…up here,” Henry waved from an upstairs window.  
  
“What?” she asked, giving him a small wave, her eyes dropping back to the front door.  
  
“Wait there…” He closed the window and opened another on the side of the house, then turned around, checked his backpack was secure, and climbed backwards out of the window and down the drainpipe.   
  
“What the…?” Emma scurried across the lawn and watched him descend, her arms outstretched ready to catch him.   
  
He casually placed both feet on the soft grass and turned to her, urgency in his voice. “Jefferson…he…”  
  
“He, _what?_ ”  
  
“He barged in, asking Regina where she is…”  
  
“Where _who_ is?”  
  
“Rapunzel!” He responded, a little louder than he anticipated.   
  
She bent down towards him, placing her hand on his back and whispering, “He’s looking for Rapunzel…? Henry, is this another of your fairy stories, come to life?”  
  
“Nooo, Emma, I’m serious. I showed you the page in the story book the other day, when Skye came in to the Sheriff’s office asking for help...”He bounced from one leg to the other, his frustration building “…remember?”  
  
“Faintly,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip, “So you think that Skye is…Rapunzel…as in _let down your hair_ …?”  
  
“Uh huh, but she’s under the spell, so she has no idea who he is. Just like Grace.” He rolled his lips, his voice breaking.  
  
“Awww,” she said, pulling him into a hug, “You okay, buddy?”  
  
“I just…can’t imagine not knowing my family…not knowing _you_. I just…feel so bad for them all.” He pushed back from her, his eyes glossy with tears, “You should’ve heard him, Emma. He’s had everyone he loves taken away from him, and she just stood there, virtually laughing in his face… _why?”  
  
_ “I honestly don’t know, Henry.” She pulled him back to her and hugged him tight, “I _wish_ I knew.”  
  
“So what do we do now? Do we tell him where she is?”   
  
“Erm…” she released him and stood up straight, leaning round the side of the house towards the street. “I’m not sure what to do, if I’m honest. I feel like intervening might not be a good idea.”  
  
“But _why not?_ He’s miserable, Emma. By the way he was speaking to Regina, he and Rapunzel had been pulled apart a long time before the curse.”  
  
“What has this got to do with Regina, though?”  
  
“Don’t you see?” He stomped around her, catching her eye, “ _She_ pulled them apart…Just like every sad story in this town, _she’s_ at the heart of it.”  
  
Emma exhaled loudly and looked up at the sky, now inky black and peppered with stars. “All right, I’ll see what I can do, meanwhile you…”  
  
"Hatch a plan of my own, and we’ll compare notes?”  
  
“…Go back to your room and do your homework. School’s nearly done, so don’t slack off now, okay?”  
  
“Okay,” he groaned as she ruffled his hair.   
  
“That’s the spirit.” They shared another hug, then she watched him climb back up the drainpipe and into the bedroom, just as Regina called him from downstairs.  
  
“Coming!” he bellowed back, before giving Emma one final wave and closing the window.   
  
“You’re gonna get me killed, kid,” she chuckled to herself, shaking her head a she made her way to her car and climbed inside. She stuck the key in the ignition and stared at the road ahead of her, remembering Jefferson’s dropped shoulders and the feeling of sheer hopelessness she felt emanating from him in the 10 seconds they were stood next to each other. “She must be some kind of special, huh?”  
  
 **The Enchanted Forest  
  
** Clothes were strewn all over the floor of your bedroom, like stepping stones crossing a river, leading to the four-poster bed where you and Jefferson lay breathless underneath the crumpled sheets. You stared up at the canopy, your arms above you. He laid on his side, resting his head on one hand, his other tracing along your body.  
  
“Wow…” you sighed, gasping for air. “Just…wow.”  
  
He dropped his head against the pillow and laughed, “Speechless, huh?”  
  
“Uh huh,” you giggled, turning your face to look him in the eye, “That was everything I hoped for, and so much more.”   
  
“I’m glad to hear it,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on your shoulder. His fingers traced shapes on your skin, his eyes focused on your freckles. “My goodness, you’re exquisite, Rapunzel.” He kissed your shoulder again, “And delightful, with your rosy cheeks…and all the giggling, of course…”  
  
You covered your face with both hands, “Oh no, I didn’t, did I?”  
  
“Yup…giggling, arms flailing…and I’m quite sure your hair illuminated itself a couple of times…”  
  
“Nooo…”  
  
"It was beautiful, darling…absolutely perfect.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Really. But…” he pushed himself up to sitting, the sheets dropping around his waist and revealing his bare chest, “Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke…” He moved over you, his arms either side of your head, propping him up. “...Let’s see if it happens again, shall we?” He flashed you a grin, then planted a kiss on the base of your neck.  
  
“Jefferson…” you murmured, your hands moving to his hair. You gazed at each other for a few moments; just enough time to catch your breath before his lips fell on yours all over again, his legs kicking the sheets up as your bodies met.  
  
At that moment, a purple cloud evaporated from the mirror on your dressing table, which faced the bed.    
  
xxx  
  
“Ahem…Your Majesty?”  
  
Regina finished talking with her court advisers, then spun round to the mirror, the train of her blood-red silk dress following close behind. “What is it?”  
  
“He’s awake…”  
  
“He is? Already?”  
  
The man in the mirror nodded, “I’m afraid so…”  
  
“And you’ve found him…where?”  
  
“In the tower… _Gothel’s_ tower…”  
  
“Where she kept Rap…Is _she_ with him?”  
  
He nodded again.  
  
“Well? Have you got anything else to tell me? What are they doing? Plotting revenge on me, I imagine…”  
  
“No, I wouldn’t call it that, Your Majesty. They were, ahem, _otherwise engaged_.”  
  
“Oh?” she frowned. “Oh…” she sighed, her eyes widening as she caught his meaning. “Well, well, well, Rapunzel, you don’t waste much time, I’ll give you that.”  
  
“What would you like to do now? Inform the guards? Have them both arrested?”  
  
Regina placed her hands together in prayer and paced back and forth, “No…let’s see how this plays out. I’m quite intrigued by the path this little romance is taking, and who knows, we might end up with an interesting outcome…” She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, “Keep me informed of their whereabouts. If they leave the tower, I want to know where they go. All right?”  
  
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty.” He bowed to her and disappeared in a puff of elaborate smoke.  
  
Regina placed her hands on her hips and sauntered over to her throne, in front of a large window, and leaned dramatically against it. “Jefferson and Rapunzel, _Rapunzel and Jefferson_. Ha!” she screamed. “He loves me, he loves me not…he loves me, he loves _himself more!_ We’ll see how you two lovebirds fare, before one of you suddenly flies the nest…”  
  
 **Storybrooke**  
  
Henry was tucked up in bed, poring over the pages in his fairy-tale book, when the doorbell rang downstairs.  
  
“You just _had_ to put your house in the centre of town, didn’t you Regina,” she chastised herself as she stomped through the hallway to the door, "Right in the middle of this circus..." She grasped the knob and opened the door a crack, peering outside.  
  
"Good evening, Madam Mayor,” Gold said through gritted teeth both hands clutching the top of his cane.  
  
“What do you want?” she groaned, opening the door a little wider and falling against the door jamb.  
  
“I’m afraid, you have a problem.”  
  
“What are you talking about?”  
  
He slid an object out from by his side and yanked the dust sheet off it, revealing Skye’s painting.   
  
Regina gasped, her eyes darting all over the canvas.  
  
“Seems your spell isn't as wonderful as you thought. She’s remembering…”


	10. A Painting, a Pregnancy and a Phoenix

Regina dropped her shoulders and beckoned Gold to follow her inside. She lead him into the living room, where he propped the painting up against a side table and stood facing it.   
  
“How…I…I don’t understand. _Why_ is she suddenly remembering?”  
  
Gold sucked in air through his teeth and shrugged, “I’m not sure, but this isn’t a one off, Regina…”  
  
“It isn’t?”  
  
Henry climbed out of bed and tip-toed barefoot, across the landing and a few steps down the stairs. He sat down, tucking his knees under his chin and making sure to keep himself in the shadows cast against the wall.   
  
“No. When I took this from her studio I had a look around…there’s hundreds of paintings of the house…”  
  
“Jefferson’s house?”  
  
He nodded. “And sketches of mantel clock faces, hats…and teapots. All sorts.”  
  
“Oh no…” she moaned, dropping down onto the couch and pressing her fingers against her temples, “And now he knows that she’s here…” She lifted her head up, her eyes wide. “Why did you tell him about her?”  
  
A wicked smile spread across his face as he turned in a circle, twirling his cane. “What can I say? I like to stir the pot.”  
  
“Well, you certainly did that! He’s going to find her, Gold! And judging by this…” she held her hand out in the direction of the painting, “One look at him will break the spell completely!”  
  
Henry shuffled at his listening post. He leaned forward a little, wrapping his hands around the spindles as he peered at the painting. “ _Skye…”_ he whispered. He’d heard and seen enough. He scrambled to his feet and hurried back into his bedroom, changing into a sweater and trousers and tying his shoe laces in record time. After collecting up his backpack and the book, he sneaked down the stairs, keeping an eye on the heated conversation ongoing in the living room. He opened the door just enough to squeeze through, and closed it silently behind him. He hugged the wall of the house as he made his way to the living room window, and crouched down behind a bush to continue listening.  
  
“What if…” Gold shook his head and waved Regina off, “No, no, it’s a dumb idea…never mind.”  
  
“Tell me.”  
  
"What if Rapunzel’s magic has meant your curse didn’t fully take hold…”  
  
"Go on,” she frowned.  
  
“What if her magic is overpowering yours?"  
  
She huffed, "That's not possible. That curse was fool proof."  
  
"Have you noticed her hair glowing recently?” he chuckled.  
  
“Go ahead, Rumple, laugh it up.”   
  
“I’m serious actually. If the curse is wearing off and she’s remembering, there’s a very real possibility that her magic is returning with her memories.” He shuffled his shoulders and stretched his fingers around his cane. “One thing’s for sure though, Regina. If she’s remembering what happened, I’d want to hide if I were you.”  
  
Henry had collected the last piece of information he needed, so he crept away from the house and set off running down the street, glancing over his shoulder before turning the corner.   
  
“Is that so?” Regina scoffed. “As far as I’m concerned this has nothing to do with me.” She took a step towards him and prodded him in the chest, “ _You’ve_ caused all of this; _you_ need to fix it.”  
  
Gold laughed under his breath and scratched his nose, “What a short memory you have, Your Majesty. If anything, we share the burden _equally_.”  
  
 **The Enchanted Forest  
  
** In the months that followed your declaration of love to each other, you and Jefferson had returned to the safety of his little redbrick house, via the portal.   
  
He’d ceased working for Rumpelstiltskin, choosing instead to travel between the magical worlds buying and selling any items that he could get hold of. He’d returned to Oz a few times, having now built up a good friendship with Dotty. It turned out that the blackened trees surrounding her displaced Kansas house were ideal for making the round tables in Camelot and pirate ships in Neverland.   
  
Whilst he was away, you’d spent your days painting beautiful canvasses, many of which Jefferson had sold on his travels. The well-to-do Victorians in London had been a particularly captive audience for your work, buying them up before the paint had even had time to dry. You’d also made plenty of time for going outside into the garden, surrounded by all manner of birds and butterflies, squirrels and rabbits. It was an idyllic place to live, and for the first time in your life, you felt at home, happy and safe.  
  
Each time Jefferson returned home and opened the front door, you’d practically leapt at him, wrapping your legs around his waist and showering him with kisses; passionate and needy. He’d simply smiled as you whispered in his ear or tugged on his bottom lip, then carried you upstairs to the bedroom.  
  
"Something seems…different about you, darling,” he breathed, dropping a kiss on your head, “Everything all right while I’ve been away?”  
  
“I’ve been feeling a bit strange, recently. I’ve been nauseous _a lot_ …” you bit your lip, your big [e/c] eyes looking up at him.  
  
“Oh dear, I’ll see about getting someone to come and have a look at you, all right?”  
  
“Mm hmm,” you nodded, cuddling against him under the sheets.   
  
Xxx  
  
After visiting Dotty with another business proposition, Jefferson had asked to use her portal to get to Granny’s house.  
  
“Of course,” she said, taking his hand as the tornado ripped through the roof and sucked them both into thin air.   
  
They landed softly and he stepped straight over to the old lady’s door, his mind wandering as he twisted the brim of his hat in his hands.   
  
“Everything all right, Jefferson?” Dotty asked, a frown on her face.  
  
“Huh? Oh, yes, sorry…it’s...it's Rapunzel. She’s not very well at the moment. I’m hoping Granny can help.” He offered her a weak smile then knocked on the door.   
  
“Everything will be fine, I’m sure,” Dotty replied, moving to his side and placing a hand on his shoulder.   
  
The door opened inwards, revealing Granny’s friendly face. “Dotty, my dear, how are you?”  
  
“I’m very well, Granny, thank you. I trust you and Red are keeping well too?”  
  
The old lady bobbed her head then looked to him, her eyes suddenly growing wide and fearful. “J…Jefferson!” She pulled him inside the cottage and looked frantically out of the low windows.  
  
“Goodbye Jefferson,” Dotty smiled, “She’ll be okay.” She waved at them both, then pulled the door closed.  
  
“What are you doing here, Jefferson?” Granny frowned, rushing around the rooms of the small cottage and laying any mirrors down on their faces.   
  
“I…I need your help, Granny…please…” he watched as she continued to flit between here and there, her hands waving wildly. “…What’s wrong?”  
  
“Regina!” she exclaimed, finally coming to a stop when he placed his hands on her shoulders, “She’s been looking for you and the girl from the tower…Ra…Rap…”  
  
“ _Rapunzel_ , yes. That’s why I’m here, actually.”  
  
“No, you don’t understand! She’s ransacking villages looking for the pair of you, claiming this Rapunzel has something she wants!”  
  
He shuddered, “She _is_ something they want.”  
  
“I don’t…”  
  
“She has magic…her hair…it glows. She can heal wounds…return someone’s lost youth to them,” he sighed, “…maybe even bring someone back from the dead…”  
  
“Oh my!” Granny gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “What do you need me for, then, my dear?”  
  
He ducked low to look out of the window and down the sloping hill towards the nearest village. “She’s unwell and I need someone I can trust to come and take a look at her. Would you…?”  
  
“Yes…yes, of course.” Without saying another word she collected a few things into a small bag and came to rest in front of him again. “All set, where are we going?”  
  
He opened the door and beckoned her outside, then spun his hat into the air. “My house.”  
  
Xxx   
  
When Jefferson and Granny arrived at the house, you were just coming out of the bathroom, your fifth trip this morning. Your face was deathly pale, your hair scraped back into an untidy bun. “Hello…” you groaned, walking down the stairs and slumping down on the couch. “Jefferson, who’s this?” you asked, pointing at the old lady.  
  
“Darling,” he whispered, dropping down onto one knee and clasping your hand between both of his, “This is Granny, she’s a friend. I brought her here to see if she can tell what’s wrong with you. Is that all right?”  
  
“I know what’s going on…” Granny piped up, taking a step forward and squeezing the handles of her bag.  
  
“You…do…?” you mumbled.  
  
She gave a slow nod and stepped further forward. “Have you been feeling like this for a while, my dear?” She placed the back of her hand on your forehead and smiled.   
  
“No…well, a week, maybe two?”  
  
“It seems to be getting worse though, Granny,” Jefferson frowned, “Before today’s trip I hadn’t left her side all this time. What do you think is wrong?”  
  
“Nothing.”  
  
“No…nothing??” you grimaced.  
  
“No. Judging by your symptoms, I’d be inclined to say you’re expecting…”  
  
“Expecting…what?” Jefferson asked, before you had a chance.  
  
Granny lowered herself so her head was in line with both yours and Jefferson’s and whispered, “A baby.”  
  
 **Storybrooke  
  
** Henry sprinted across a street lit with the dim glow of the street lamps, towards a small apartment building and stood on his tip-toes, his hands shaking as he fidgeted with the key in the lock. He muttered a few choice words under his breath then almost screamed with joy when the lock clicked and the door burst open. He made his way up the stairs, two at a time, and flung the door of his destination open.  
  
“Emma!” he spluttered, leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath.   
  
Emma almost threw the omelette she was making ten feet in the air, her eyes wide. “What the hell, Henry?!”  
  
“He’s got it…Gold’s got Skye’s painting…”  
  
She dropped the pan. “What? Where?”  
  
“In my house…he’s just shown it to Regina…told her…” he took another long breath and stood up straight, “Told her that Rapunzel is _remembering_.”  
  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Emma muttered under her breath. “Okay…all right…what do we do, Columbo?”  
  
"Who?”  
  
“Never mind,” she frowned, “Just tell me your plan…I assume you’ve made one.”  
  
“Of course,” he grinned, slipping the backpack off one shoulder and spinning it around, dropping it on the dining table. He glanced around, “Is Mary Margaret here?”  
  
“No, she’s over at Ruby’s tonight.”  
  
“You didn’t get an invite?”  
  
“Yes, actually I _did_ ,” she scoffed, “I just wanted some _peace and quiet_ to think.” She grabbed him in a loose headlock and rubbed her knuckles on his head, laughter bursting from her. He struggled out of her grasp and laughed too. “Of course, I knew there was little chance of that happening.”  
  
Henry pulled out a large piece of sketching paper and laid it flat on the table. It was covered in a very detailed map of Storybrooke, with all businesses marked on it in green felt-tip pen. Jefferson’s house was drawn in red at the bottom left, Skye’s studio in blue at top right. “Okay…Operation Cobra: Mission One needs its own operation name…”  
  
“How about…Operation Too-Much-Time-On-My-Hands?” Emma chuckled, giving him a playful nudge.  
  
He frowned. “How about…Operation Phoenix…a love rising from the ashes of Fairytale Land.”  
  
Emma leaned back, a smirk on her face, “That’s really poetic, I’m impressed.”  
  
He grinned. “All right, well I think first things first…Jefferson needs proof of Skye…sorry, Rapunzel’s existence.”  
  
“Didn’t Regina already tell him she was here? Isn’t that proof enough?”  
  
Henry pulled a face, “Emma, please, who can believe a word that comes out of her mouth?”  
  
“You’re right. But, ahem, you know you’re talking about your Mom there?”  
  
He shrugged. “Anyway…so we need to make sure that Jefferson gets proof. And you know how we’re going to do that?”  
  
“How?”  
  
He smirked and tapped the tip of his pen on a hastily-done drawing in the middle of the page, “We lead him to the painting.”  
  
Xxx  
  
“So what do I do, Gold?” Regina asked, watching him recover the artwork and walk crookedly out into the hallway. “How do I fix this, Mr. Know-It-All?”  
  
“Honestly, Regina,” he sighed, placing the art on the floor and spinning back round to face her, “I’m not sure there’s much you can do now. Take your lumps, deal with your hatred towards her and the Hatter, and write it off as a failed piece of revenge.”  
  
She fumed, her lips clenched tightly into a thin line. “I will _not_ let them win, Rumpelstiltskin!”   
  
“You played your best hand, but you forgot to check that everyone was playing the same game as you…” He winked at her and turned to face the door. He could feel her eyes boring into his back.   
  
Her heels clicked menacingly along the marble floor as she walked towards him, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder as she slithered around to face him. “Mark my words, Rumple…if they are reunited there’ll be hell to pay. Do you hear me? Hell to pay.”  
  
“Save your threats for one of your quivering subjects, Regina…it doesn’t mean a thing to me.” He lifted the painting up and tucked it under his arm, his eyes staring her down.   
  
“Where are you going with that?” she snarled.  
  
“I’m taking it back to its hiding place. This is the ace up my sleeve, _Your Majesty_.”


	11. Change of Plan

“A…a baby?” you whispered, your eyes darting between the smiling faces of Jefferson and Granny. “Are you…sure?”  
  
"Well, I’m not a physician, but I was a mother and I had the same signs you’re displaying.”   
  
Jefferson’s eyes were shiny with tears, his hands squeezing yours gently as he listened to Granny explaining the other things that would happen as your pregnancy progressed. He dropped his head into your lap then rose to his knees, placing his hands on either side of your face. “I…I can’t believe this, darling…we’re going to be parents!”   
  
You laughed through your tears and smiled at him.   
  
He wiped your cheek with his thumb and rested his forehead against yours, “My beautiful Rapunzel, you’ve completed me.” He kissed your lips and turned, rising to his feet and taking both of Granny’s hands, “Thank you so much…” He looked back to you for a moment, your smile a mile wide. “…we’re overjoyed.”  
  
Granny shook her head and pulled him into a hug, “I did nothing, Jefferson, but I’m so pleased for you both. You deserve all the happiness in the world.” She released him and took a step towards you, her hand cupping the side of your face. “Rapunzel, I don’t know you very much, but I hope that will change. I can see the effect you’ve had on this wayward Hatter, he’s a changed man…”  
  
“I am?” he joked, sitting down next to you and wrapping his arms around you.  
  
She smirked, “Yes, you are. I wish you both well, and please don’t hesitate to ask for any help, whatsoever.”  
  
“Thank you,” you smiled, “For everything.”  
  
“It’s my pleasure to pass on such joyful news.” She bent down and kissed your cheek, then picked up her bag and headed towards the door. “Right, I’ll get out of your hair,” she winked at you.  
  
“Goodbye, Granny, and thank you, again.”  
  
“Jefferson, would you mind seeing me home?”  
  
“Of course.” He kissed you on your other cheek and gave your tummy a quick rub, then stood up and swiped up his hat. “I won’t be long, darling,” he grinned, then disappeared into the hallway.  
  
Xxx  
  
Jefferson and Granny landed a few feet from her cottage, and embraced.  
  
“Are you sure you don’t want to come inside for a cup of tea?” she asked, pulling away.  
  
He held his hand up and smiled, “No thank you, I’ve had just about as much tea as I can handle, this past few weeks. Besides, I should get back to Rapunzel; make sure she’s all right.”  
  
“Okay, Jefferson. Congratulations again, I look forward to the arrival of a little version of Rapunzel or yourself.” She kissed his cheek and walked up to her front door, taking a moment to give him a wave.  
  
Jefferson returned the gesture and turned on his heel, his long leather and velvet coat twirling behind him. He leant backwards, his hands curled into fists that punched the air with glee, a shriek of excitement bursting from his lips. “I’m going to be a daddy!” he shouted. A few birds ruffled their feathers and took flight in a nearby tree, taking him by surprise. “Okay, okay…I’m going,” he chuckled, before removing his hat and spinning it to life in one swift motion. The beam of light cut through the shadows cast by the tall pine trees around him, and within a second, all trace of him was gone.  
  
After watching the spectacle from her window, Granny removed her coat and turned to hang it up next to Red’s cloak. She smiled to herself at the image of Rapunzel’s bewilderment, then sheer happiness at the news, “Such a lovely girl,” she mumbled to herself.  
  
“Indeed,” came a voice from the corner.   
  
Granny gasped and fell against the wall, squinting to see who the intruder was. “Who…?”   
  
“So nice of you to _finally_ return. I’ve been waiting for you to come home for a very long time, Granny, and my patience was beginning to wear thin.”  
  
The old woman took a step towards the voice. “Regina…” she sighed.  
  
“Very good,” the Queen teased, her red lips curling into a deliciously wicked grin. She was sat proudly in a big armchair, her dress and cloak billowing either side of her legs. She drummed her long black fingernails on the arm and bounced her stiletto-ed foot, draped over the other leg.  
  
“What do you want?” Granny asked, clasping her hands together to hide their sudden shaking.   
  
“You know what I want…of that I’m certain. I was just down in the village, and someone said you’d disappeared with the Hatter.” She licked her lips, “I’d very much like to speak with him.”  
  
“You…you can’t. He’s not around at the moment…”  
  
“Oh, I know…” Regina scoffed, “Do you think I’m foolish?”  
  
“I think you’re _mad_ , but no…not foolish.”  
  
The Queen laughed under her breath and shuffled in her chair. “If I’m mad, _dearest Granny_ , others made me that way. Now I just want back what was taken from me, is that so unreasonable?”  
  
Granny swallowed, her heart pounding in her chest. “Sometimes it’s better to let things go, Regina…to move on…”  
  
“Silence!” she screamed, leaping up out of the chair. “I am your _Queen_! How dare you speak to me in such a condescending way?! I am not asking for a lot, only what is rightfully mine, now summon her!”  
  
Granny frowned. “Who?”  
  
“The girl with the overgrown cat…”  
  
The old woman shrugged, “I have no idea who you’re talking abo…”  
  
“The girl with the army of tin men!” Regina took a step forward, bearing down on Granny in her towering heels, and sneering, “The girl with the ruby shoes…”  
  
Granny shifted her weight, the remnants of her werewolf days rising to the surface. “No.”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
"I said no, Regina! You leave that girl alone!"  
  
“Who? _This_ girl?” She clicked her fingers and two of her guards shuffled out of a bedroom with Red. One had his hand over her mouth, the other holding her arms behind her back. She squealed and struggled, her eyes wide.  
  
“What…what are you doing?”  
  
“It’s really quite simple. You fetch Dotty for me, I let your precious granddaughter live.”  
  
“No…” Granny sniffed, looking at Red. “Th…that’s not fair…”  
  
“Fair?! Who cares about what’s fair or not?” She clicked her fingers again and one of the guards drew his sword, bringing it to rest against Red’s throat. “Fetch her… _now_.”  
  
Granny nodded, tears running down her face as she stepped backwards away from Regina. She began to turn, but changed direction and ran towards her granddaughter, placing her hands on her face. “I’m sorry, my sweet girl…”  
  
Red squeezed her eyes shut as tears crested her eyes. The guards shoved the old woman away and pulled tighter on Red’s arms.   
  
Regina rolled her eyes, exasperated by the crying women. “I haven’t got all day…”  
  
The old woman shuffled over to the back door of the cottage and knocked three times, “Dotty…Dotty its Granny. Are you there?”  
  
Xxx  
  
Bert was purring softly as he had behind his ears tickled. He playfully tried to knock Dotty’s arm away as he rolled onto his back to let her ruffle his chest.   
  
“You’re just a great big softy, aren’t you Ber…”  
  
 _Knock, knock, knock  
  
_ _“Dotty…?”  
  
_ She raised her head up towards the ceiling, “Granny?” She frowned and looked down at the lion, now sitting up, his ears pricked, “I think something’s wrong, Bert. I…I don’t get called like this… _ever_.”  
  
She rose slowly to her feet and stepped into the centre of the room, clicked her heels together three times and waited as the tornado rumbled in and sucked her up into the portal. The moment her feet touched the floor, she sprinted across to Granny’s door and pulled it open, stepping straight into the cottage, her hair in her eyes.  
  
“I’m here, what’s…” As she moved her red waves away from her eyes, the look on Granny’s face told her everything she needed to know before she’d even glanced around the room. Red was restrained by two burly-looking men, and stood just off to the left was Regina, smiling in a most sinister way. “…What’s going on?”  
  
“Dotty! We meet at last!”  
  
“Regina…” she replied, pulling her shoulders back and glaring at the Queen. “I should’ve known…”  
  
Regina smirked and dropped her gaze for a moment. “I require the use of your services, if you don’t mind?”  
  
Dotty glanced down at her shoes, sparkling very brightly in such a dark room, “I do, actually. They’re not for your use.”  
  
“Oh, but they are! You see, I need to get somewhere that’s…a little off the beaten path, shall we say? And I’ve had word that you’re a dear friend to the Hatter and his _significant other_ …”  
  
Dotty sucked in air, “No, it’s not going to happen. They are my friends, like you say, and you do _not_ betray friends…”  
  
“If it makes you feel any better, you can tell them you were under duress?” Regina pouted, then laughed. “After all, that’s dear old Granny’s excuse, isn’t it?”  
  
“No!” Dotty yelled, her chest heaving, “Enough, Regina! Just accept the fact that you’re not going to get what you want and move on with your life!”  
  
Regina sneered at her, and before Dotty could say another word, she splayed her fingers and fired a spell, freezing the redhead on the spot. She turned to her guards holding Red and laughed, “There are so many self-righteous people in this world, don’t you think?”  
  
As she approached her captive, the spell melted away just enough for her to remove the shoes and place them on her own feet. She winced a little as they pinched, “Snug,” she laughed, then smoothed out her dress and thrust her own shoes at Dotty as the spell disappeared completely.   
  
Granny, Red and the two guards stood in silence as Regina grabbed hold of Dotty by the back of her neck and clicked her heels together three times, “See you soon,” she smirked as the winds picked up outside. The trees thrashed violently as they came together into a tornado. Granny screamed as the roof was ripped off, pulling Regina and Dotty up and vanishing.  
  
Xxx  
  
"Darling?” Jefferson called, stepping through the front door.  
  
“Up here,” you groaned, closing the bathroom door and shuffling towards the top of the stairs.  
  
He paced up the stairs to you, a look of concern on his face. You pulled an exaggerated frown. “Aww, darling, are you all right?” he asked, drawing you into a hug.  
  
You rested your head against his shoulder, sinking into his embrace. “I’m fed up of this already, but it’s a small price to pay.”  
  
He kissed your hair. “I can’t believe you’re carrying our child, Rapunzel. I…I’m over the moon.”  
  
“Me too,” you smiled, squeezing him tight. “It feels like such a whirlwind, from where I started…climbing down from that tower, meeting you in the forest…all the way to here.” You looked up at him, smiling down at you. “I love you so much Jefferson, and I’m so proud to be yours.”  
  
“Oh, darling…” his lips met yours, the kiss lingering for a moment. When you parted, he sighed, “I’ve never been in love before, so this feeling is as new to me as it is to you, but…I can’t imagine it any other way. I’m so pleased to be able to hold your hand and kiss you…to love you the way you deserve to be loved.” He released you and took a step backwards, taking your hands in his. “Let’s savour this moment, and look forward to all the other amazing things that are about to come our way. Getting this place ready for bringing up our baby…” he looked around, “I’m probably going to need to tidy up some of these stacks of books, huh?”  
  
“Yes…” you giggled through your happy tears, “Probably.”  
  
“And its first day of school…learning to read, and paint, just like its mother,” he winked.  
  
“And don’t forget its first time going on a trip through the portal,” you smiled, “That’s a memory that’ll stick with me forever, that’s for certain!”  
  
“I’m glad to hear it,” Jefferson smiled, pulling you in for another kiss, his hands on either side of your face. “Now, how about you go and relax in bed and I’ll make some tea? Does that sound like a plan?”  
  
“Absolutely, you know me so well.” You held him in a hug for a minute longer, then parted, your fingers touching until the very last moment, as he turned and bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. You leaned over the handrail, smiling as he whistled a beautiful tune as he filled the kettle. “I can’t wait to spend my life with you, my love…” You felt your cheeks blush as the words tumbled out. _My love._ You sighed. It was perfect. You hovered on the landing for a little longer, before the comfort of bed called to you and you shuffled off into the bedroom to wait for him.  
  
Xxx  
  
Regina pushed Dotty down onto her knees, then released her from her grip. She stepped forward, making sure to keep her back turned so the girl couldn’t see how much the red shoes were hurting her. She headed over to the left and began walking slowly along the row of doors, taking a moment to focus on each one individually. “Hmm, so are you going to be a good girl and tell me which door belongs to your new best friend?”   
  
“I’m not telling you anything,” Dotty breathed, her hands splayed on the polished wood floor. “Why can’t you just leave them alone?”  
  
“I have my reasons,” Regina smirked, stopping to look at an ornately carved oak door, its golden handle shining brightly. “Now…Jefferson is a show-off, as we all know, so…” she pointed at the door and turned to Dotty, gauging her reaction. “No…” She clamped her hands behind her back and continued on, “I must say I was thrilled to learn that there were other ways to get to a portal, Dotty. I couldn’t contain my joy.”  
  
“Those shoes are…mine, Regina.”  
  
“Is that so? Because from where I’m standing, they’re in my possession right now…but I’ll tell you what.” She walked back over to the redhead, now sat up high on her knees, her chin held aloft with steely determination. “You tell me which door leads to the Hatter’ house and you can have your intensely uncomfortable shoes back. What do you say?”  
  
“No! You might as well kill me, because I will never tell you where they are!”  
  
Regina slapped her hard on the cheek, knocking her sideways onto the floor. “You insubordinate little rebel! Tell me now or I’ll hold you to your word and kill you right here!”  
  
Dotty rubbed her cheek as tears fell down her face. Her eyes darted across at something for a moment before she looked back up at the Queen. “Do it, then…”  
  
“Ah, what was that? A little flicker in those eyes…” Regina stood up straight and turned to look in the direction that Dotty had glanced. “At last!” she screamed. She gave the girl one last look before flicking the train of her dress backwards and sashaying over to the door. A shimmer ran from top to bottom of the piano black door, inlaid with fine layers of gold leaf. Regina grinned, her hand hovering above it, her reflection visible in the shiny surface. “Now this looks ostentatious enough for Jefferson,” she grabbed the ornamental door handle and pressed down slowly…  
  
“No…” Dotty huffed, holding her hand out as she lay disorientated on the floor, “Regina, please…”  
  
“Wish me luck…”  
  
“Jefferson! _Look out!!”  
  
_ The fine bone china teapot slipped out of his hand and smashed into thousands of tiny pieces, as Dotty’s screams resonated around the house. He gasped, his eyes wide as he heard the creak of the front door, followed by the click-click-clicking of heels on the hallway tiles. “Rapunzel,” he whispered, leaping over the kitchen table and into her path. “Regina! What are you doing here?”  
  
“Hello, _Hatter_ , just hear to collect what’s rightfully mine,” she smirked, removing her black silk gloves and dropping them on the console table. “I told you I’d find her, when you decided to play Romeo and sacrifice yourself…remember?”  
  
He swallowed. He shuffled a couple of steps to his right, blocking the staircase. “This is between you and me, Regina. It has nothing to do with her.”  
  
“Oh Jefferson, dear, sweet, naive Jefferson…It has everything to do with her.” She stepped towards him, her fingers stroking his cheek. “You see, after you, Rumple and that _doctor_ fooled me into thinking I could have back what was taken from me, I was distraught. I was…devastated…”  
  
He frowned, his heart pounding as she kept her touch on his cheek. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, she gave him a swift, sharp slap.  
  
“But then, when Gothel came to me and told me how mother’s little fountain of youth had escaped, it dawned on me…”  
  
His eyes nearly bursting out of their sockets as he realised what she was saying. “Regina…don’t…”  
  
“I don’t need your parlour tricks, your sleight of hand… _your hat_ …” she licked her lips, “ _Oh no_ , all I need to bring my Daniel back to life is your darling Rapunzel…”  
  
“No!” he bellowed.  
  
“Get out of my way!” Regina screamed, firing a spell at him and sending him careening into a hat stand. She wrapped her fingers around the handrail, lifted her skirt above the shoes with the other hand and headed upstairs, her laughter echoing around the entire house.   
  
Jefferson scrambled to his feet, his blood rushing through his veins as he grabbed hold of the bannister and yanked himself around to the stairs, picking up the pace as Regina’s red dress disappeared from view, “Rapunzel!” he shouted, “Darling, get out! She’s here! Rapunzel!”  
  
Regina glanced over her shoulder as he reached the top step, her hand already covering the doorknob. She winked at him then opened the door. “Going somewhere?”  
  
You nearly jumped out of your skin, half-dressed and standing on the furthest side of the bed, “Regina! What…are…you…?”  
  
“You’re coming with me,” she said, circling the bed, “You already escaped once. I won’t be letting you out of my sight this time…” She lunged forward, grabbing your wrist.  
  
You looked down. She was gripping so tightly your hand was losing all traces of colour. You grabbed her hand with your other, trying in vain to prise her fingers off you. “Let go of me!”  
  
"Get off her!” Jefferson screamed, racing into the room and across the bed.   
  
You tugged at your hand, her grip cast iron. “Please, Regina, I’m not yours to take!”  
  
“You damn well are! Now come on! You’re going to resurrect my Daniel!”  
  
“What?!” you gasped, your free hand dropping to your side. “Resurrect…What?”  
  
Jefferson took over the task of ripping her hand away, but even he had no luck.  
  
“I want him back! He’s mine, and I _need_ him back! That magic hair of yours is going to do it for me!”  
  
“Regina, no! Don’t be ridiculous! You’re hurting me!” You tried tugging again, “I can’t go! I’m…I’m pregnant!”  
  
The Queen gasped and released your hand, covering her mouth. She looked to Jefferson, his chest heaving. “You’re…you’re having a…baby?” She pointed at him, “ _His_ baby…?”  
  
You nodded.  
  
“Well this changes things…”   
  
Both you and Jefferson sighed and dropped back down onto the edge of the bed. You leaned into him, resting your head against his shoulder as he rubbed your sore wrist.  
  
“I’ll have the baby instead.”

“Wha… What? No!” He shouted, leaping to his feet and standing between you and her.

“Yes! I’ll leave you alone until the baby is born, and then, I’ll take it off your hands and raise it, to raise Daniel. Plus, as an added bonus, your child will want for nothing.”  
  
You couldn’t say a word, your utter shock rendering you mute.  
  
“You’re not taking our child, Regina. Not in a million lifetimes.”  
  
“Oh, I am, _Hatter_! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” She leaned to the side and blew you a kiss, “Sorry about all this, Rapunzel. I’ll leave you to your baby-waiting. No need to tell when the bundle of joy arrives, _I’ll know_.” She grabbed Jefferson by the chin and pulled him down, placing a kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations…savour it, because those first few moments will be all you have.”  
  
He yanked his head away, but before he could say anything, she’d turned on her heels and ran from the room, her heels clicking on the tiles again within seconds. The front door slammed shut and he turned to face you, his eyes devoid of happiness. “Ra…Rapu…”  
  
“Oh, my love…” You opened your arms out to him and he collapsed onto his knees, his head dropping onto your chest.   
  
He sobbed, his body shaking with grief and confusion. “I’m…so…sorry…”  
  
“Shhhh,” you whispered, stroking his hair with your fingertips and kissing it. “We’ll find a way, I promise. She’s _not_ taking our baby…”  
  
His head shot up, his eyes wide and his tears gone. “Rumpelstiltskin!”  
  
“What about him?”  
  
“We need to see Rumpelstiltskin!”


	12. A Price Worth Paying

As you sat at your dressing table, fixing your hair, your thoughts drifted. You stood up, almost catatonic as you walked across the landing and into Jefferson’s hat room. Sat in the middle of the worktable was a pair of large milliner’s scissors, shining in the mid-morning sun. You placed your hand on the table and traced the edge as you walked around, your back to the window. You slowly reached out, your right hand splayed as it approached the scissors, a beam of light running along its edge and almost blinding you.   
  
With your other hand, you pulled a pin from your tightly wound bun and shook your hair out, before scooping it up and holding it. Images of Regina sneering at you flashed before your eyes, followed by the look of hopelessness on Jefferson’s face when she left. You could hear the thud of him falling to his knees in front of you, his eyelashes damp with tears.   
  
You took a deep breath, collected up the scissors and opened the blades. Then, without a second thought, you cut through your thick golden hair, the shine running up the length and disappearing into nothingness. You let go, closing your eyes as the heavy strands crashed to the ground around your feet. As you lowered your head to look, the colour began to be overpowered, jet black seeping into it and drowning out the gold. The scissors fell from your hands and ricocheted on the floor as your heart pounded and your eyes fell shut, a tear escaping and sliding down your cheek.  
  
“Darling?” Jefferson said, placing his hands on your shoulders and giving you a gentle shake.   
  
You opened your eyes to be faced with your reflection in the dressing table mirror. Your hands were shaking as you gripped the hairbrush with all your strength.  
  
He moved and knelt down beside you, his hand rubbing your back, “Where’d you go?”  
  
“I was just…” you gave him a sad smile and stroked his cheek, “Never mind, I’m all right. Are you ready to go?”  
  
He stood up and kissed your hair, “Yes. All ready except for this…” He turned and collected a stunning deep blue velvet cloak, gently covering your shoulders and fastening the gold clasp in front of your neck.   
  
You ran your hand down it, your  smile now broad and genuine, “It’s beautiful, my love, thank you.”  
  
“It suits you very much…” He gazed at you, still admiring your gift, through the dressing table mirror, tilting his head to the side.  
  
“What?” you asked, rising from your chair and turning to face him.  
  
“I didn’t mention it earlier on but…you called me _your love_.” He pulled you close, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing you tenderly, “…and you are mine.”  
  
You bit your lip and stepped away from him, your hands covering your abdomen. “We’ll soon have proof of our love for each other, Jefferson…We must protect it.”  
  
He nodded and held his hand out for you. “Let’s go.”  
  
Xxx  
  
You watched as Jefferson scooped his hat up off the gravel, and then looked around in all directions. You were standing in the courtyard of a magnificent castle, overlooked by snow-capped mountains. The path branched off in a symmetrical pattern, topiary hedges lining the routes and small fountains bubbling wherever four paths crossed. “Jefferson…where are we?”  
  
“Rumpelstiltskin’s castle, darling.” He stepped over to you and took your hand. “Are you okay?”  
  
Your eyes followed the line of the main path all the way to the castle, standing tall and wide, and its many dark windows bearing down on you. “There’s something about this place that’s…strange.”    
  
Jefferson glanced up at the round towers, dotted along the perimeter wall and shuddered, “I know what you mean. Rumpelstiltskin is a strange kind of man, but he will help us…”  
  
A sudden chill ran through the air and you tugged on your cloak. “Are you sure?” you asked, chewing furiously on your bottom lip.   
  
“Yes, I’m sure he will protect our child.” He took a deep breath and stepped forward, gently pulling you along beside him. “Come on. I’ve worked for him many times before, everything will be all right.”  
  
As you walked up the steps together, you began to feel a little calmer. _Everything will be fine_.   
  
Jefferson approached the metal-studded wood doors and pounded on one with his fist. Silence. He tried again, and this time the doors opened, creaking as they slowly parted. You gripped his hand as tightly as you could and followed him as he walked inside, his eyes scanning the square hallway. An imposing stone staircase wrapped around both sides of the room, meeting on a balconied landing in front of you, surrounded by old dusty paintings and tapestries. “Rumpelstiltskin!” Jefferson called out.   
  
“Where is he?” you whispered into his shoulder.  
  
“Rumpelstiltskin, it’s Jefferson!”  
  
Silence.  
  
He tugged you forward, yours eyes meeting. “It’s all right,” he breathed, watching a frown cover your face.  
  
As you tip-toed forwards, an unnerving laugh echoed down the hallway beyond the landing. You shivered and pulled Jefferson back with both hands, “I…I can’t do this, my love…I…”  
  
“Rapunzel, darling…” he responded, just as the laughter echoed again. He glanced over his shoulder, “Rumpelstiltskin?”   
  
“Hello…dearies…” A pair of green-tinged, calloused hands slithered along the stone balcony above you, the figure slowly emerging from the darkness. His eyes were black; the circles around them almost making them disappear completely.  
  
“Rumple…thank goodness,” Jefferson sighed, “We need your help…”  
  
“We?” he replied, flinging his arms out and grinning, “Who’s _we?_ Aren’t you going to introduce me to your beautiful companion?”  
  
“Forgive me…” Jefferson turned to you, his hand pulling you forwards until you were stood side by side, “This is Rapunzel, the love of my life.”  
  
You swallowed.  
  
Rumple clapped his hands with a strange amount of glee and leaned over the balcony, flashing a sparkling white grin. “I knew you’d find someone, Jefferson…”  
  
He shrugged, suddenly feeling bashful.  
  
The strange man suddenly sprung to life, racing down the stairs, taking your hand and placing a kiss on the back. “…And what a fine woman she is.”   
  
“Erm…thank you,” you muttered.   
  
“So, you say you need my help? Do tell.” He twirled around and beckoned you both to follow him. Jefferson placed his hand on your lower back and you set off walking under the balcony and down a wide hallway, lined with vast stone columns. Rumpelstiltskin wished a set of heavy, intricately carved doors and welcomed you into the dining room, painted and adorned with various shades of red and pink. _A very odd decorating choice for a man of such dark demeanour_. “Come, come,” he grinned, letting out that strange laugh again when you pulled out a dining chair and flopped down on it.   
  
Jefferson stayed stood up, his hands resting on the back of your chair. “We had a visitor yesterday…”  
  
Rumple meandered around the edge of the room, almost as if in a world of his own. “Oh really? Who was that, then?”  
  
“Regina.”  
  
The man stopped in his tracks. “Oh...?”  
  
Jefferson rolled his lips and shifted his weight, “Yes. She somehow got hold of Dotty’s shoes and made her way through the portal to _our house_.”  
  
“Why?” Rumple asked, sheepishly.  
  
“She…she wanted revenge for the little trick we played on her with the Doctor…and the hearts. Or at least that’s what I thought, but…” he dropped his head, his hand moving to your shoulder. You gave it a gentle squeeze and closed your eyes, the images of yesterday assaulting your senses constantly. “… Instead of killing me, she’d decided to get her revenge another way….”  
  
“Which was?” Rumple almost sang.  
  
“Me.” Your eyes shot open and you exhaled loudly, your hands fidgeting with the edge of your cloak.   
  
“You have magic…” he stated. When you nodded he ran from the opposite corner of the vast room and slid to a stop across the table from you. “You have magic…! I knew it!”   
  
“She wanted to use me, or my hair more specifically, to bring this Daniel person back f…from the dead.”  
  
“Regina had her hands around Rapunzel’s arms, she was going to drag her out of the house and back to some dungeon. Then…heaven knows what else!”  
  
“So…how come she’s here in front of me now?”  
  
“I…I made a mistake…”  
  
“Darling, no you didn’t…”  
  
“Yes I did, Jefferson.” You stood up and walked over to the imposing window behind you. A pair of ravens were chasing each other in the distant sky as the sun’s strength grew. “I told her I’m pregnant.”  
  
Rumpelstiltksin shrieked with excitement and ran round to Jefferson, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder, “Well done, well done! Good man…”  
  
Jefferson glared at him, his face ashen. “She’s going to take our child, Rumple! She’s going to wait until it’s born and steal it away from us…to raise and use for her twisted spells and whims…I don't even think she cares about bringing Daniel back now! This is just pure, evil revenge.”  
  
“I see.”   
  
“I don’t think you do, actually,” Jefferson scowled, “This is all _your_ fault, old man!” He stepped right up to Rumple’s face and prodded him in the chest, “ _You_ tricked her, _you_ wanted her to embrace dark magic…I got caught up in the middle and now the person that I love is suffering!”  
  
“Jefferson, please…”  
  
“He needs to know this, Rapunzel!” He shoved Rumple, who then stumbled against the wall. “This is all your fault, Rumpelstiltskin!”  
  
“Jefferson, stop!” you shouted, your chest heaving. Both men looked at you, frowns on their faces. “I was locked in a tower…” you shrugged, “I was kidnapped when I myself was a baby, and held captive for 18 years…this outcome was inevitable. Regina’s mother ordered my imprisonment, so she could use my hair to keep herself young. I think Regina only put two and two together when I woke you from your poisoned sleep…”  
  
Rumple lifted his finger to ask a question, but when you glared at him, he pulled his arm down and motioned zipping his lips shut.  
  
“That must’ve been the point when she realised I can do more than give someone their self-professed beauty back…”  
  
“Rapunzel…” Jefferson sighed, “…Darling.”  
  
You stood up straight and looked past him to Rumple. “We need your help to protect our child. Can you do it?”  
  
He shrugged, then nodded. “You know my terms though…”  
  
“Yes, magic comes with a price, we get it!”  
  
“Now, now, dearie! There’s no need for that tone.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” you sulked, “I just need this reassurance, I’ll do anything.”  
  
“What’s the price?” Jefferson asked, leaning forward and pressing his hands against the edge of the table.  
  
Rumple tugged on the cuffs of his finely embroidered coat. “A child needs a parent…someone to care for them and love them.”  
  
“We know that…”  
  
“ _A_ parent…” he said, holding his finger up in front of you. “My spell will protect your child, and only _one_ parent.”  
  
Jefferson nearly collapsed against a chair, “W…why?”   
  
“My magic is not infinite, dear boy. And if there was no price for it, we’d be sinking under the weight of spells and enchantments.”  
  
“But…this is not fair! Damn you Rumpelstiltskin! All of this is your fault, no matter what Rapunzel believes! You’re the reason Regina is demanding this revenge! We have our chance to be happy and now…now you’re telling me that one of us won’t get the chance to see our ch…” His voice catches in his throat, “…Our child grow up.”  
  
“Jefferson, don’t think too much on it…” you pleaded, your hands on his chest, “Our main priority must be keep our precious baby safe, no matter the cost.” You pulled his hands down and rested them against your abdomen, “This is just the beginning…soon neither of us will question if we made the right decision. We _have_ to do this, my love.”  
  
He rolled his lips, nodding his head and grasping onto your hands. “You’re sure? This might as well be a death sentence for one of us.”  
  
“No…no…it’s not. We’ll both survive, and it’s not guaranteed anyway.” You and Jefferson gazed at each other for a minute, a mixture of sadness and desperation on your faces.   
  
Rumple tapped his foot, his impatience unquestionable.   
  
Without saying another word, your minds were up. “All right,” you whimpered, “You have a deal, Rumpelstiltskin.”  
  
“Wonderful!” He clapped his hands and laughed. The sound sent shivers down your spine.   
  
"Hang on…” Jefferson piped up. He took a step towards Rumple and spoke in a low voice. “What’s in it for you, huh?”  
  
“I have no idea what you mean.”  
  
“We went to Alpina a few months ago and…someone had cast a protection spell over the entire kingdom, whilst confining the King…” He looked over at you, “Or should I say _Rapunzel’s father_ to house arrest, unable to see his long lost daughter. I _know_ it was your spell.”  
  
“Well…” Rumple wiggled his fingers and shifted his focus between you and Jefferson, “I…wanted you to come to me. I expected you to do it much sooner than you did, if I’m honest…”  
  
“You’re never honest,” Jefferson scoffed.  
  
Rumple nodded in agreement, then pointed a bony finger at you. “I’d like a lock of your hair…”  
  
“Excuse me?”   
  
“I knew exactly who King Alfred was, and who his daughter was…I’d heard the tales of the missing princess for _many_ years. Regina was on her way to destroy the kingdom, so he requested my help…I obliged, knowing that you, Jefferson, would figure out it was my doing and come to me. Then, I could get a lock of that beautiful golden hair.”  
  
“You know my hair is useless once it’s cut, though? It loses its magic.”  
  
He shrugged, then flung his arms out, a broad smile on his face. “I’d just like to add it to my collection of curiosities, that’s all.”  
  
“All right,” you sighed, dropping your shoulders. “Cast the protection spell for our child and you…you can have it.”  
  
“Actually, I need a strand for the spell…so I might as well take it now, yes?”  
  
“Fine.”   
  
As he approached you, his fingers wriggling again, you pulled a lock free from the bun, letting it drop softly against your shoulder. Rumple approached and, using his magic, swiped across, cutting the hair bluntly. As it fell into his palm, you saw the shine run up the cutting, before disappearing into thin air. It now laid in his hand, slightly dull.   
  
He moved backwards and over to the table, pulling a single strand free. You and Jefferson gathered around, taking each other’s hand instinctively and leaning in as Rumple began his spell. His hands were restless, moving in circles as his eyes, wide with excitement, followed the swirls of colour that emanated from the hair. Slowly, it began to disintegrate, until there were only particles left, swirling and dancing in the multi-coloured lights. When the spectacle rose up to his face, he blew gently, sending the spell towards you and Jefferson.   
  
“Done,” Rumple smiled, “Regina will not be able to get anywhere near your child, at any point.”  
  
“You’re sure?”  
  
He nodded, “Absolutely. They will be safe.”  
  
As you began to speak, the lock of hair laid out on the table began to fade: first to brown, then to black. You gasped, remembering your dream earlier. Your eyes caught Rumple’s. “Why did it do that?”  
  
“The final flickers of magic dying...”  
  
“Oh…” you stepped back, your hand gripping Jefferson’s very tightly now. “Erm…thank you Rumpelstiltskin…I…I’d like to go home now, my love.”  
  
“Of course,” Jefferson replied, before turning back to Rumple. He offered a handshake and gave him a weak smile. “I concur, thank you for your help…”  
  
“My pleasure, dear boy. I’m sorry I can’t save you all, but you never know, Regina might just leave you alone, now that the child is out of her reach.”  
  
Jefferson nodded then followed you out of the room and back through the hallway. “At least we know our child is safe, darling,” he whispered in the doorway, before placing a kiss in your hair.  
  
“Yes…that’s all that matters for now,” you replied, your thoughts elsewhere, your stomach in knots. “Let’s go home, shall we?”  
  
Back in the dining room, Rumpelstiltskin watched you walk out into the middle of the courtyard, tug at your cloak and leap into the light of the hat, giving a short squeal of delight at the sight. Suddenly, something began to glow behind him, the light hitting the corner of his eye. He turned around and rushed over to the table just in time to see the lock of hair burst back to life, the black giving way to shimmering golden hues. He raised his eyebrows. Using his sharp fingernail, he sliced across his index finger, drawing blood, then picked up the hair and wrapped it around the wound. Sparks of light leapt off the strands, and a few seconds later he removed it, his finger completely healed. He grinned. “Well, would you believe it…?”


	13. Operation Phoenix Begins

In the weeks after visiting Rumpelstiltskin, Jefferson had been unable to hide his anguish at the impossible choice you’d both had to make. Only one parent would be protected from Regina, under the spell. Moments of silence had been spent leant against the door, gazing at him working furiously on his hats, the never-ending spools of gold thread catching your attention as he worked and worked, trying desperately to keep his mind occupied. “How long will it even last? The protection spell?” he asked, throwing his arms out in exasperation.  
  
“I don’t know…” you shrugged, “But I’m tired of us being on edge about it.” You placed your hands on your abdomen, your eyes pleading, “We’re missing out on this. Don’t let Regina take away this happiness, my love. Okay?”  
  
He nodded, his eyes filled with tears. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” He put down his milliners scissors and stepped around his worktable, taking you in his arms. “You are so wise, Rapunzel,” he smiled, dropping a kiss on your lips. “You’re too good for me.”  
  
“Nonsense,” you chuckled, offering him a kiss in return before settling your head against his shoulder. “We’re a great team.”  
  
“We are.”  
  
Xxx  
  
As the months passed and your pregnancy progressed, the atmosphere in the house improved. Jefferson had even felt calm enough to be persuaded to take the occasional business opportunity, venturing to all lands except the Enchanted Forest.  
  
On returning from his latest trip, he found you curled up in a chair, reading one of the hundreds of books scattered around the house, “How did it go?” you asked, placing the book on the chair arm.  
  
“Really well,” he nodded, dropping his coat and hat on the stand and walking towards you. “How are my two favourite people doing?”  
  
“Well, aside from the fact that this little one is desperate to get out and has the kick of a fully grown horse…” you giggled, running your hands over your large bump, “…Aside from that, we’re both great.”  
  
He leant down to give you a kiss, smiling as he moved away, “Well that’s all right then.” Turning round and dropping to his knees, he covered your hands with his and rested his forehead gently against your belly, whispering, “Hello my precious baby…don’t be too hard on your mother, okay? She’s kept you safe and warm all these months. She’s kept you fed and comfortable…so if you could try to kick a _little_ more softly, she’d appreciate it very much.”   
  
You watched him, your hands gently stroking his hair. As he continued to whisper, happy tears ran down your face. He looked up at you, a huge grin on his face and you laughed, spluttering as you wiped at the tears.   
  
“We can’t wait to meet you, love you and protect you with all our strength...So don’t be shy, little one. Come and say hello soon.” He kissed your bump, just as the baby kicked. His face lit up as his eyes met yours, his mouth gaping. “Wow!” He pulled himself up and gave you a passionate kiss, “Oh darling, I love you.”  
  
“I love you too, Jefferson.” He sat on the arm of the chair and put his arm behind you, pulling you into him. You snuggled into him, your eyes falling closed. “Can we just stay in this moment forever?”  
  
 **Storybrooke  
  
** “Emma…come in. Do you copy?”  
  
 _Static.  
  
_ “Emma. Do you copy?”   
  
“ _Yes, Henry_ , I copy,” Emma groaned into her walkie-talkie, before cracking a smile. “Are you sure these things are necessary?”  
  
A faint crackle came through the receiver before he spoke, “I told you, it’s best for me to keep out of sight at the beginning of Operation Phoenix, in case Regina’s watching. So I stay here in the car whilst you go and knock on Jefferson’s door.”  
  
“All right…” Emma took a step towards the white mansion, a grimace on her face. As she lifted her foot to climb the first step up to the front door, doubts rushed into her mind and she turned around and ran toward her yellow Bug, glancing left and right for any spies hiding in the night. Henry slapped his hand against his forehead as she came up along the car and tapped on the window.   
  
He wound it down, muttering under his breath as the stiff handle creaked. “What are you doing?” he asked in an angry whisper.  
  
She bent down and rested her hands on the window frame, “I don’t know about this plan, Henry. I feel like we’ll be getting his hopes up, only for him to be disappointed in the end.”  
  
“Why would he be disappointed? Emma, you’ve seen him, he’s miserable as he is. Hope is _exactly_ what he needs.”  
  
She stood up straight and nibbled her thumb, looking over her shoulder at Jefferson’s house. Lights shone dimly in the living room, with the rest of the house bathed in complete darkness. “Damn, I hate when this kid’s right,” she muttered to herself. “Okay…I’m going for it…”   
  
“Yes,” Henry beamed, watching as she took a deep breath and set off back up the curved driveway, “Remember to tell him the truth.”  
  
“Yes, I will,” she whispered into the walkie-talkie. “I’m approaching the door now, going to listening mode only.”  
  
“ _Copy_.”  
  
She laughed under her breath and took great strides up to the front door. The porch light illuminated the vast space as she came to a stop, and rang the doorbell to her right.   
  
 _Ding-dong  
  
_ Jefferson frowned, dropping his evening paper onto his lap. He glanced up at the ornate mantel clock and his frown deepened. “It’s after 10. Who on earth…?”  
  
 _Ding-dong  
  
_ The paper was dropped on the coffee table as he stood up, huffing as he marched out of the living room and into the hallway. The distorted figure at the window was wearing a distinctive red jacket. “Emma…” he sighed, covering his face with his hand and pulling it down.  
  
As she reached for the button again, he pulled the door half open and hid behind it, an awkward silence lingering for few seconds.   
  
“Erm…Hi, Jefferson,” she said, pulling a face and avoiding eye contact.  
  
“Emma. Hello.” He stuck his head out of the door and looked up and down the street, “What are you doing here at this hour?”  
  
“Well…err…”  
  
“Just tell him, Emma!” Henry shouted into his walkie-talkie from the car, forgetting that he was in listening mode only. Nevertheless, the noise travelled, and she coughed uncomfortably, stuffing the walkie-talkie into her pocket.  
  
Jefferson scowled. “I’m sorry, what is it that you wanted? I’m in the middle of…” he pointed his thumb in the direction of the living room.  
  
"Erm, yes…I…” She dropped her head and collected her thoughts. After a few quick breaths, she lifted her head, her eyes showing her determination. “We have proof.”  
  
He opened the door completely and took a step forward. “Proof of _what_?”  
  
“That Rapunzel is here.”  
  
“What did you say?”  
  
Emma took the last breath she needed to get her through this revelation and began, “We have proof that Rapunzel… _your_ Rapunzel is here…” she pointed a finger at the floor, “…In Storybrooke, and that she’s beginning to remember…things.”   
  
“Wh...what? Remembering _me?_ ” His heart began to beat hard and fast, almost _too_ fast. He stumbled forwards down the top step, Emma holding her hands out to catch the man a foot taller than her.  
  
“Whoa there, you okay, Jefferson?” she asked, her hands on his shoulders.  
  
“I…I need to see it. Pl…please take me to see it…”  
  
“Okay, one second…” She ran inside and grabbed his leather and velvet coat, then hastily closed the front door and moved back over to him, awkwardly helping him into his coat, slipping her head under his arm and guiding him to the car. Once he was safely in the passenger seat, buckled up and looking almost zombie-like, she ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in.   
  
As the car spluttered to life and they set off, Henry popped his head up in the backseat, his eyes fixed on Jefferson’s catatonic state. “Is he…okay?”  
  
“Yep, just in a bit of shock.” She checked her mirrors for any signs of being followed. “He’ll snap out of it as soon as we get there.”  
  
“You know what this means, right?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Operation Phoenix has officially begun,” he grinned, nodding his head and rubbing his hands together.  
  
“Wh…what’s Operation Ph…Phoenix?” Jefferson stammered.  
  
Emma opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Henry, his excitement overflowing.  
  
“Reuniting you with Rapunzel!”     
  
Jefferson sat up in his seat and looked across at Emma, still obsessively checking her mirrors every few seconds. “So you believe, now? You believe in magic?”  
  
“Hey, this is all the kid’s idea; I’m just the wheels, okay?”  
  
Jefferson twisted round, one knee resting on the edge of the seat, “But you’re not saying no. That’s progress.”  
  
"You want to know what progress is? Not throwing your ass in jail after you kidnapped Mary Margaret, dosed my tea and tried to force me to make a magic hat!” She glanced across at him, her hands gripping so tightly to the steering wheel that her knuckles were white.  
  
“Yeah…” he grimaced, leaning back and rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry about that. I’ve just had a lot of things to deal with…”  
  
“Yeah? No kidding. If, and I mean _only_ if Henry has connected the dots properly and all of this Rapunzel stuff turns out to be true…” She relaxed her hands and offered him a weak smile, “…Then I’ll understand why you went to such desperate measures in an attempt to get home.”  
  
He rolled his lips and gave a short nod. “Thank you for your help, either way.” He looked over his shoulder at Henry, “Both of you…I really appreciate it.”  
  
They drove down Main Street, bordered on both sides by quaint shops and diners, covered by the dark of night, with not a soul in sight. Emma cut the lights as the car rounded a corner, coming to a stop in an alleyway between two shops. All the members of Operation Phoenix piled out of the car and headed out onto the street, Henry leading the way. As they made their way along the light blue façade of a shop, Jefferson slowed his pace, finally coming to a standstill.   
  
“What are we doing here?” he scowled.  
  
“Don’t ask questions yet,” Henry said, resting his hand on the door handle and beckoning him forwards, “Come on. Trust me…”  
  
Emma and Jefferson glanced at each other. She shrugged and pointed him towards the door. “After you.”  
  
As Jefferson dropped his shoulders and took a step forward, Henry celebrated under his breath and pushed the door open. The sound of the bell overhead resonated particularly loudly with the town so quiet, causing Emma to peer over her shoulder and do one final check for nosy spies.   
  
Glass cabinets created a boundary around the room, filled with assorted pieces of fine bone china tea sets, vintage jewellery and knick-knacks. An old-fashioned wooden rowing boat hung upside down from the rafters, surrounded by ornate bird cages and jewel-toned glass ceiling lamps.   
  
Jefferson’s attention was caught by a small tea cup sitting proudly in one of the cabinets. “So…what do you want to show me?” he muttered, frowning at the chipped edge.   
  
“Hello…” came a voice from the back room. The clicking sound of a cane striking the wooden floor grew louder as he rounded the corner and stopped by the cash register.  
  
“Gold…” Emma sneered.  
  
"Ms Swan…Henry…” Gold turned and focused on the sad figure to his left, leaning against the cabinet with his head down. “… _Jefferson_. To what do I owe this pleasure?”  
  
“We want to see the painting,” Henry demanded, stepping forward and staring at the man.  
  
“Dear boy, this is an antique shop…”  
  
“It’s a _pawn shop_ , Gold,” Emma scoffed and folded her arms, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”  
  
Gold glared at her, “ _As I was saying_ , this is an antique shop full of many, many paintings. You’ll have to be more specific.”  
  
“Okay, how about the one that you brought to the house three nights ago? You know the one.”  
  
“Three nights?” Jefferson muttered, “Three nights ago you came to my house and told me that Rapunzel was here in Storybrooke…”  
  
Emma and Henry look back and forth between the two men, unwilling to miss a single moment. “Wait a minute,” she chips in, “He told you about Rapunzel?”  
  
“Yes…he said I should go and ask Regina about her whereabouts. This all played into her hands though, of course. She was in her element, watching me pleading to know the whereabouts of my dar…darling Rapunzel.”  
  
Gold rolled his eyes. “You were always going to get more out of her than I could tell you, son. You must know tha…”  
  
“What a load of crap!” Jefferson boomed as he took a step forward, “This is all just a game to you, isn’t it? You have so little compassion, so little heart in that cold, miserable body of yours that you have to steal other people’s happiness…or watch it crumble.”  
  
“Well…I…” Gold shifted his weight, extending and then rewrapping his bony fingers around the top of his cane.  
  
“Get the painting, old man,” Emma demanded.  
  
“Yeah, we know it’s here.”  
  
Gold looked down at Henry, who had his hands curled into fists. Laughter spread slowly across his face, watching the three intruders trying to act threatening, “Am I supposed to be scared right now?”  
  
“Do it, or I’lll…”  
  
“You’ll what, Emma? Hmm? Are you going to arrest me for…”  
  
The sound of glass smashing halted everyone in their tracks. Emma and Henry spun round to find Jefferson holding a pewter jug in the space where the glass should be, his body heaving as he glared at the broken pieces.   
  
Gold’s eyes grew wide as he watched the Hatter reach in and pick up the chipped tea cup. “No…”  
  
Jefferson turned to face him, his hand gripping the item tightly. “Fetch that painting, Rumpelstiltskin, or I will destroy this remnant of the one you love…”  
  
“You wouldn’t…”  
  
“What have I got to lose, old man? If you don’t get that painting, I’ll never find her anyway, so I really don’t care what happens to your trinket. Now fetch the painting….” He dropped the tea cup, to gasps all round, dipping down and catching it moments before it hit the hardwood floor.   
  
Gold screeched, his arms outstretched. “All right, all right. I’ll show you the painting, if you put that down safely.”  
  
Jefferson glanced at Emma. She gave a quick nod and threw him a knowing glance. He turned and replaced it in the cabinet, making sure to line it up with the faint circular imprint in the red velvet lining.   
  
Gold breathed an audible sigh of relief and skulked off into the back room, slamming his cane down hard with each step.  
  
Henry stepped over to Emma and grinned, “This is it, Operation Phoenix is about to have its first success…”  
  
“Shhh,” Emma whispered, moving them both out of Jefferson’s earshot. “We don’t know how this will go, Henry…I’ve got a feeling this isn’t going to be straight forward.”  
  
“In what way? Mr. Gold has gone to fetch the painting.”  
  
“It’s not him I’m worried about…” She peered over her shoulder to look at the Hatter, brooding across the room. He had returned to leaning against the cabinet, curling his hands into fists then stretching them out again. His death-stare at nothing in particular made her shudder. “I think there’s some very bad blood between these two, and Jefferson is _not_ in a forgiving mood…”  
  
At that moment, Gold returned clutching a large frame wrapped in a sheet. He lifted a large frame stand up that was leaning against the wall and placed it on the counter, setting the frame down against it. His eyes darted between the three people stood in front of him as they each took cautious steps towards him. He took a deep breath and gripped the corner of the sheet, pulling it away slowly.  
  
“Oh my…” Jefferson gasped as he staggered forwards, his hands hovering mid-air as he approached the painting of silhouettes and shapes. His fingers gently traced the canvas, following the direction of the paint strokes and pausing on the figure of the young girl, cast in shadow. "Grace... Oh, my…darling…Rapunzel...” he spluttered, his vision blurred by the tears that fell as he took it all in. He rolled his lips. “I… I’ve missed her for… so, so long…” As the reality hit him, his knees gave way and he fell to the ground, one hand still resting on the canvas.   
  
Emma and Henry dived for him, coming to rest either side of him.   
  
“Jefferson…”  
  
“Nine years…” he gasped, his head down.  
  
“What…?”  
  
“It’s been nine years since she was taken from me.” He finally looked up, his sadness being pushed aside by anger. “She was with her daughter for all of four hours before she was ripped away…before everything changed…”  
  
“Grace still had you though,” Gold muttered, hiding in the shadow behind the painting.  
  
Jefferson screamed into the air as he pounded his fist on the floor and leapt to his feet. Reaching over the counter, grabbing Gold by his shirt collar and pulling him forward, he seethed, “But she didn’t have her mother…” He gave him a violent shake, “…Did she?! _You_ made sure of that, you spineless ba…”  
  
"Hey!” Emma shouted, shuffling Henry behind her back, “What’s going on here? What are you talking about?”  
  
“Regina was going to take our child away and raise her as her own,” Jefferson fumed, his hot breath on Gold’s face.  
  
“What?!” Henry gasped, looking up at Emma. “So what did you do?”  
  
 “We went to Rumpelstiltskin for _help_....”  
  
Gold scoffed, licking his lips. Jefferson yanked him forwards a little more and gave him another shake.  
  
“So…I take it that didn't go to plan, then?” Emma asked as she ran her hands through her hair.   
  
“Nope. Not even close…”


	14. A Mother's Love

“Jefferson…”  
  
Silence.  
  
 _“Jefferson!!”  
  
_ “Yes, darling?” he asked, poking his head out of the kitchen, a Cornish blue-striped teapot in his hand.  
  
You took deep breaths in and out as you stood halfway down the stairs, one hand on the rail, the other cradling your bump. “It’s starting…”   
  
“Oh…oh right…” he disappeared back into the kitchen. You laughed through the pain as pots and pans clattered, followed by muttered curses. After a few seconds, he dashed out and up the stairs to meet you, supporting you behind your back and taking your hand. You shuffled into the bedroom, where he helped you onto the bed, his hands shaking as your contractions started. “What do you need first, my darling?”  
  
“G…Granny…” you whispered as you squeezed your eyes shut, the pain overwhelming. You splayed your fingers on the bed as you leaned forward and he placed more pillows behind you. “Get…Gra…Granny…”  
  
He looked over at his hat, sat on a chair in the corner. He hadn’t ventured into the Enchanted Forest since Regina had made her demands. He turned back to you, “But…Rapunzel, if I go there, Regina will know. She’ll know what’s happening…”  
  
“J…Jefferson!” you shouted, relaxing a little as the pain died down for a while, “I’m sorry, but I’ve never done this before and I’m scared…I need someone who knows what to do!”  
  
He bit his lip and nodded, taking a damp cloth from a washbowl on the bedside table and dabbing your forehead, “All right…will you be ok for a few minutes?”  
  
“Yes…just go now, _please_.” Your eyes met, both of you pleading to the other. He dropped a kiss on your forehead and you watched as he walked backwards over to the chair, scooped up his hat and ran out of the room.  
  
“I’ll be back very soon!” he shouted back up the stairs as he grabbed his coat, throwing it on as he sprinted out of the house and down the garden to the door, standing on its own in the middle of the lawn. As he flung it open, he threw the hat into the centre of the circular hall and leapt straight into the light.  
  
He’d only been gone for a minute, yet already you regretted your decision to send him away. You needed his calm voice, his soft hands…you missed his kiss on your forehead and the way he rubbed your back. You looked down at your hands, trembling incessantly. The contractions were quite far apart, but the pain that ran through your body was so intense that you spent the time between worrying about the next one. You took a long, slow breath and spoke out loud, “Okay, Rapunzel…you’ve got this. No need to worry, you’re going to be fine. Your baby is go…going to…” you covered your mouth, holding back a torrent of tears that tried to overpower you.   
  
All the worries that Jefferson had talked about, that you had told him not to dwell on, had never really gone away. You’d had a sick feeling in your stomach for nine months, wondering what was going to happen when this moment came. Was Rumpelstiltskin’s spell going to work? If so, what then? You shook your head, banishing the dark thoughts from your mind. “Not…not good for the baby…” you whispered. “Stay strong.”  
  
Xxx  
  
“Granny!” Jefferson breathed, barging into the little cottage with the last of his breath.  
  
She leapt out of her reading chair to her feet, Red stepping up to her side. “Jefferson! Goodness, what’s going on?”   
  
“Th…the baby’s c…coming…”  
  
“On my!”  
  
“Ra…Rapunzel…needs your h…help, please?”  
  
“Certainly!” The old lady spun around, searching for her bag. Red turned and spotted it, picking it up and handing it to her. “Thank you dear, I won’t be too long.” She gave her granddaughter a kiss and scurried out of the cottage, hot on Jefferson’s heels. She took his hand as the bright white column of light shot up into the sky and they jumped, vanishing into thin air.  
  
Xxx  
  
“It’s time, Your Majesty,” the Magic Mirror announced, returning from the mirror in Granny’s living room.  
  
“Really?” Regina grinned, stepping towards him, the click of Dotty’s ruby red heels sounding menacing against the marble floor. Her grin widened, a laugh breaking free of her darkest-red lips, “Soon, I’ll be able to put that nursery to good use!”  
  
“Soon?” the Mirror replied.  
  
“I’m not completely heartless, Mirror…I’ll let them have a bit of time with the new-born,” she winked.  
  
“May _I_ make a suggestion…?” came a voice from the doorway.  
  
Xxx  
  
“Push, Rapunzel,” Granny said, calm but firm, as you gritted your teeth, sweat dripping down your face. “Nearly there, my dear…”  
  
You screamed, completely exhausted by the nineteen hours you’d been in labour. You pushed with what was left of your strength, then fell back against the pillows, shaking your head. “I can’t…I…”  
  
“You can do this, Rapunzel,” Granny nodded.  
  
“No…I…I can’t.”  
  
“Rapunzel…” Jefferson whispered to you, dabbing your forehead again and covering your cheeks with his hands, “…You’re nearly there, my darling. My amazing, beautiful darling. Just one more push, you can do it…” He kissed your nose and smiled, taking a step back and keeping a hand on your shoulder.  
  
You gave a tired half-smile and leaned forward again, finding your strength in his touch and pushing once more. It was as if time came to a standstill. You could hear Granny talking, offering words of encouragement whilst Jefferson gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze and joined in the chorus. Your eyes were slammed shut, your heart thumping in your ears and slowly drowning out the noise.   
  
You saw yourself aged six, laid on the floor of that tower playing with a doll you’d stitched by hand, the patterned rug your imaginary kingdom of castles and villages. Now you were ten, sitting all alone; paintbrush in hand and staring out of the window at the vivid green leaves on the trees. A breeze picked up and gently swayed them, the rustling sound soothing your senses. Suddenly, you were eighteen, climbing down the thick green stalk and wandering through those trees…bumping into a strange man…his eyes sparkled, the lilt of his voice the most wonderful sound you’d ever heard, his smile captivating. Your heart beat slowed, the voices in the room resurfacing for a moment.  
  
Memories seeped in again, pulling you back to the tower. Loneliness was cast aside by the touch of his hand on your bare skin, his lips barely touching your neck. Now you were sat in your living room, his hands holding yours as Granny told you the happy news...  
  
A baby’s cries broke through, and you opened your eyes, gasping for breath, your efforts finally rewarded. Jefferson wrapped his arm around you and squeezed you tight, placing a kiss on your forehead before rushing round to cut the cord.   
  
“Congratulations,” Granny smiled, grabbing a small blanket and swaddling the wriggling child, “You have a beautiful baby girl.”   
  
Tears came unchallenged as you fell back again, completely spent. Granny carefully handed the child to Jefferson who brushed the back of his finger across her rosy cheek, the broadest smile on his face. “Hello, baby girl,” he whispered to her as he turned back to you. “Welcome to the world. I’m your Papa. Hi,” he waved, “Would you like to say hello to your Mother?” Her cries slowly dissipated as he lowered her into to your outstretched arms. Placing her down, he kissed your lips and sat on the edge of the bed, one arm behind you and the other pulling her blanket down a touch.  
  
“Hello, my precious daughter,” you smiled through your sobs. She cried again, so you cradled her a little more and moved her close, giving her first feed. “She’s so wonderful…”  
  
“You both are,” he replied, kissing you again. “I’m so proud of you, Rapunzel…I can’t even describe it.”  
  
“You make a wonderful family,” Granny added as she cleaned up the room, “She is a lucky girl.”  
  
You looked at Jefferson, neither of you saying a word. This moment was too precious to think of anything else.   
  
“I’ll get started on some of this washing downstairs, leave you three alone,” Granny smiled.  
  
“Thank you, again,” you whispered to her, “We are forever in your debt.”  
  
“Nonesense,” she said, waving you off, “Seeing that little cherub welcomed into the world safely is all the payment I need.” She stepped around and kissed yours and Jefferson’s cheeks, stroked the baby’s head and left, closing the door behind her.  
  
You returned to the child, watching as your baby yawned for the first time, “Our child, my love. I can’t believe it.”  
  
“Me neither. Our shining light…”  
  
“Our saving Grace…”   
  
You both gasped, then looked at each other, eyes wide.   
  
“I…I love it.”  
  
“Me too.” You bit your lip. “Are we in agreement? Is she Grace?”  
  
“Yes. It’s perfect.”   
  
You kissed and smiled at each other. Right now everything was perfect.   
  
He gazed into your sleepy eyes, “You should get some rest, darling. I can put her down for a bit, too?”  
  
“No…” you smiled, moving her gently back and forth, “I don’t want to be apart from her just yet.”   
  
“All right,” he nodded, settling down more comfortably beside you and wiping your face with the damp cloth. You closed your eyes for a moment, relaxed by his tender touch. Together you sat on the bed, just looking at your baby daughter, soaking up even the tiniest movements. Her delicate but strong heartbeat penetrated your soul, a happiness so pure you almost couldn’t believe it existed.   
  
Jefferson watched you, and when your eyes eventually fell shut again, this time for longer, he took Grace gently from your arms and pulled the basket next to your bed, placing her down and glancing between the two of you.   
  
You sank into a soft sleep, waking up an hour or two later to find him sat in an arm chair on the other side of the basket, nodding off clutching a small teddy bear. You smiled and slipped out of bed, wincing a little from your soreness. Tip-toeing across the landing toward the bathroom, you could hear the faint sound of Granny washing dishes in the kitchen. _I don’t think I’ve ever felt so peaceful_. You cleaned up and returned to your bedroom, where Jefferson was now awake and leaning into the basket, cooing at Grace.   
  
The next hour seemed to go by so slowly, as you took turns holding her, and whispering to each other as she gurgled. You lowered her back down into the basket before he took you in his arms, wrapping them around you with great care. You placed your hands on his face as you both leaned in for a kiss, slow and tender.   
  
“Oh my goodness! Jefferson!” Granny screamed as the front door was knocked clean off its hinges, Regina stepping over the mangled wood and heading straight up the stairs. Following close behind, Rumpelstiltskin giggled like an over-excited schoolboy as he skipped along, clapping his hands together and turning to wave at Granny. “Jefferson! She’s here! Regina’s here!” she bellowed.  
  
Jefferson’s eyes grew wide as the noise travelled up to the bedroom. He scrambled around, looking for his hat…anything to get the three of you out of there.   
  
You ran over to the basket as Grace screamed. “It’s all right, my precious girl, Mother’s here…”   
  
Jefferson ran his fingers through his hair, then dived for a chair to prop up against the door. As he wedged it under the door handle, Regina stopped on the other side, flinging the door open and sending the chair flying across the room.   
  
She stepped inside, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Heartfelt congratulations, my dears. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”  
  
Jefferson stepped forward, moving between you and the Queen. “Regina, how did you know?"  
  
"Well, I figured that poor sweet Rapunzel wouldn't be able to have her baby without some proper guidance, so I had Granny's cottage watched."  
  
Jefferson shifted his weight, cursing under his breath at their naivety. "Please…leave us alone.”  
  
“I told you I was coming, Hatter. If you didn’t have the sense to get away from this… _place_ ” she sneered, “…It’s your own stupid fault.”  
  
“They did make other arrangements, Your Majesty…” Rumple slithered from round the corner.  
  
“Rumpelstiltskin? What…what are _you_ doing here?” you frowned as you cradled Grace, still crying and screaming.  
  
“Just an interested bystander…”  
  
Jefferson scoffed, “What are you up to, old man?”  
  
Rumple shrugged, slinking back into the shadows as Regina gave an exaggerated cough.  
  
“ _Anyway_ …you’ve had plenty of time with…him? Her? What’s its name?” she pulled a face.  
  
“Grace,” you said, pulling your shoulders back and turning her slightly away from everyone. “And you’re not taking her, Regina.”  
  
“Oh, aren’t I?”  
  
“No. Never.”  
  
Granny stumbled up to the doorway, keeping hidden from view. She covered her mouth to hold back a gasp, seeing the peace that she had left, completely destroyed.  
  
Jefferson stepped closer to Regina, his chest heaving. “Leave our house, _right now_. You are _not_ taking our child, so be on your way.”  
  
Regina cackled, glancing over her shoulder at Rumple who joined in, the combination of their laughs terrifying. “I’m not leaving empty-handed, _Hatter_ …” With a flick of her wrist, he was thrown backwards, leaving a clear path towards you. She stomped over, reaching her hand out to take the baby from your arms.   
  
“No!” you roared, just as a flash of light appeared.   
  
Regina pulled her hand away, scorched and smoking. “What the…?” She stumbled backwards, her hand lifted in front of her eyes, “What did you do?!”  
  
Jefferson scrambled to his feet and came over, grabbing her by the shoulder and twisting her focus away from you. He pointed a finger at Rumple and grinned, “Your little lap dog double-crossed you, _Your Majesty_ …”  
  
She leaned to the side, looking past him at Rumple, “You sure about this?”  
  
He gave a slow nod.  
  
Jefferson looked over at you, both of you confused.   
  
“Wh…what’s happening?” you stuttered, placing Grace back down.  
  
“Only one parent…” Regina muttered, turning around.  
  
You gasped, “You knew about the spell?”   
  
She nodded, “He’s a good little lap dog when he wants to be…”  
  
You scowled at Rumple, examining his fingernails in the corner, “You…you told her?! I don’t understand…why would you do that?” You moved a few feet away from Grace, your hands clenching into fists as you continued to stare him down. “You spineless… _odious_ little man…”   
  
In your rage, you tried to leap at him, but Jefferson pulled you back, so you were standing with Grace again. He then twisted round, covering you completely, his hands outstretched and his bottom lip quivering. “Take me. I started all of this, take your revenge on me properly… Take… _me_.”  
  
“What? Jefferso…”  
  
"Shhh,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder at you. “It’s okay.”  
  
“Fine.” The Queen reached out, just as Rumple fired a spell towards him. As her hand wrapped around his wrist, the same burning sensation took hold, forcing her to pull away. She gritted her teeth, her rage building. “Damn you, Rumple! This party trick of yours _hurts!_ ”  
  
“Terribly sorry, my Queen, but you know me…” he struck a pose and fanned his hands out, “…Ever the showman.”  
  
You gasped as you peered round to look at his arm. Jefferson looked down, no signs of a wound anywhere. The whites of his eyes were suddenly visible as everything began to sink in, “Rumple…no…w…what have you done?”  
  
“Only one parent,” he whispered, winking at Jefferson. “You’re welcome.”  
  
“No! No, this is _not_ what I want!” Jefferson screamed.   
  
Grace joined in, and you turned round to comfort her, your hands trembling more than ever as your eyes filled with tears. “It’s all right, my precious girl. Shhhh….It’s all right.”  
  
“Rumple, don’t let her separate a mother and child…” Jefferson begged, his voice getting caught in his chest, “ _Please_ …have some compassion…”  
  
“A child needs its father, Jefferson…”  
  
“ _No_ …” he said, shaking his head and rolling his lips, “No! Regina, take me, I’ll come willingly…” he begged, watching her focus shift to you.   
  
She approached your back as you continued to console Grace. As you felt her presence over your shoulder, you turned around to face the Queen, taking in a desperate breath and meeting her eyes. Tears continued to tumble down your cheeks as you dropped a hand behind you, feeling the softness of Grace wrapped in her blanket behind you. You stood up straight, ready to face your fate. “W…will you let me say goodbye?”  
  
“Rapunzel…darling…” Jefferson pleaded, his body wracked with sorrow, “D…don’t…”  
  
“Shut up Hatter! Regina screamed, sending a blast of magic at him. “You should count yourself lucky you’re getting a second chance!” She turned back. “Hurry up,” she snapped at you. You ran forward, falling into his arms.   
  
He pulled you in close, squeezing you tightly. “You don’t have to do this, my darling…I will protect you…”  
  
“We've run out of options, Jefferson. At least this way I’ll know that you are both safe and together.” He tried to plead some more, but you interrupted. “Look after our daughter, my love…” you whispered, your words catching in your throat, “…Look after our Grace…” You rested your forehead against his as he brushed the hair off your face, “Tell her I love her more than life itself, won’t you?”  
  
“Darling…”  
  
“Please,” you pleaded, giving him a shake, “Let her know that you two are my greatest treasures, and every time she looks up at the sky, let her know that I do the same…See, we’re not that far away from each other, really...” He nodded, his tears mixing with your as your cheeks touched. You placed a soft kiss on his lips and managed a weak smile, “I love you, Jefferson…”  
  
“Rapunzel…I love you t…”  
  
“All right, that’s enough of the soppy stuff,” Regina groaned, grabbing your wrist and yanking you towards the door.  
  
“Wait…I need to s…say goodbye to…” you stammered as she dragged you out of the room and onto the landing. “No! Jefferson!”  
  
Granny gasped, falling back hard against the wall as Regina fired a spell at her.   
  
“Rapunzel!” Jefferson screamed, heading towards the door.  
  
“Ah, ah, ah…” Rumple chuckled, stepping in front of the doorway and blocking him in. “You’ve got a baby to take care of, Hatter.”  
  
Jefferson grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, pulling Rumple’s face to within an inch of his own, “Why did you do that?!”  
  
“Making…am…amends…” he struggled, “An apology for the…Daniel situation…”  
  
“Y…you’ve just condemned the woman I love to a dungeon…and never seeing her daughter again to _make amends?_ What the hell is wrong with you?!”  
  
Rumple managed to stick his hand in his pocket, retrieving the lock of hair you’d given him at the castle. “It came back to life…”  
  
“What?” Jefferson frowned, adjusting his grip around his neck.   
  
“The cut hair has magic once more…and Regina will let me take it now and then…so that I can keep Belle with me forever…” He let out a gleeful shriek.  
  
“You sold her out?!” Jefferson screamed, his heart pounding and sweat running down his face, “How did I ever think you were a decent man?” He threw Rumple against the wall, ran out of the room and hurried down the stairs.  
  
“Jefferson!” you cried again as Regina dragged you toward the front door.  
  
“No!” he screamed, watching helplessly as the pair of you disappeared into nothingness, transported back to the portal by the ruby red shoes. “No…” He dropped to his knees, covering his face with both hands and sobbing uncontrollably. “Darling…”  
  
Back in the bedroom, Rumple listened in to the drama, before smirking to himself and clicking his fingers. He grabbed hold of the trim of your dress just as you were pulled out of the world, waving and smiling at Jefferson’s powerless, broken figure.  
  
In the silence, Jefferson’s sobs echoed throughout the house. His body was consumed by grief, as he sat drooped on the tiled floor of the hallway, unable to even lift his head.  
  
Granny peered over the landing, a tear falling from her cheek onto the oak handrail. Grace began to scream and cry again, so the old lady turned and went back into the bedroom to comfort her.  
  
Xxx  
  
In a distant corner of Regina’s extravagant palace, she reappeared, dragging you behind her, Rumple clinging on behind you.   
  
He let go, quickening his pace until he reached the Queen’s side. “We have a deal then, yes?”  
  
“You come by every six months or so to give the girl a haircut, then take the clippings for yourself…” she gave him a sideways glance and frowned, “…For whatever _odd_ desires you have. Yes, we have a deal, you strange little man.”  
  
He patted his fingers together in delight and scurried along beside her.   
  
She squeezed your wrist more tightly as you struggled in her grip, tears streaming down your face. With what was left of your strength, you dug your heels into the stone floor, yanking Regina’s arm. She pulled at you, her face twisted with anger. “Come on, you stupid girl! You had your fun, running round with that charlatan for a year. Now…back to solitary confinement you go… back where you belong!” She managed to drag your resisting body a few more feet, stopping at an ugly wood door criss-crossed with iron work. Rumple opened it and she shoved you forward. You flew through the air and landed with a hard thud on your hands and knees, your hair unravelling all around you. The pair of them stepped inside, blocking your exit. Rumple crouched down beside you and ran his hand down your cheek. You slapped it away, almost growling at him.  
  
“Ooh, feisty girl,” he chuckled, pulling out a large pair of scissors that had magically appeared in his back pocket. His hand slid up your cheek again, before moving to the back of your neck and grabbing hold of your hair, his grip strong.   
  
“No…” you winced as he tugged you forward and cut straight through your beautiful golden hair halfway down your back. The black seeped in instantly, banishing the glorious shine and suffocating the tiny bit of light in the tower room.   
  
Regina held her hands out, confusion impatient written all over her face. “Well? Where’s the magic, Rumple?”  
  
“Just wait…”  
  
Sure enough, within a minute the strands burst back to life, dazzling all three of you with their shine.   
  
“Wh…what?” you stuttered, looking all around the room. “How can this be?”  
  
“Magic,” he grinned, standing and winding the heavy tresses into a ball. “So, I’ve got what I wanted. Her hair will grow quickly, then you will have your beloved Daniel back.”  
  
“Excellent. Thank you for everything Rumpelstiltskin. Our debt is settled and you may take what you need from her.”  
  
He gave a sharp nod at her and glanced down at you, still sprawled on the floor. “Enjoy your stay, dearie.” He turned and left the room clutching his prize, Regina following close behind.   
  
As she reached the doorway, she looked back at you. “Make yourself at home, girl. You’ll be here for quite some time.”  
  
You clambered to your feet and stomped over to her. “You evil wo…”  
  
“Temper, temper Rapunzel…that’s no way for a young lady to behave.” She smirked and turned to leave. “Oh, and don’t worry about Jefferson and your precious Grace…I’ll check in on them from time to time…”  
  
“What? No! You have me, now leave them alone!”  
  
“Now what fun would that be, huh? Sweet dreams.”  
  
 **Storybrooke  
  
** “What the hell, Gold??” Emma shouted, moving to stand by Jefferson who still had him by his collar. “You dragged a mother away from her new born child and her partner…what’s wrong with you?”  
  
“We do desperate things when we are desperate, Ms Swan.”  
  
“Bull!”   
  
“Henry!” Emma scowled, before turning back to the men. “So all this stuff with stealing the painting, telling Jefferson Rapunzel is here in Storybrooke, showing the painting to Regina and now us… What is your end game?”  
  
“Atonement.”  
  
“Bull!” Jefferson screamed, pressing his thumbs into Gold’s throat.  
  
“Yeah!” Henry chipped in, “You’ve come too far, old man!”  
  
Emma turned away from the wheezing man and placed her hands gently on Jefferson’s arm, speaking in a soft, calm voice, “Hey…so now that you’ve seen proof that she’s here, and that she remembers, how about we take you to her?”  
  
He blinked several times, almost disbelieving, “Y…you know where she is?”  
  
“I do. And now I know who she is…” She covered his hands with her own and released Gold, who fell backwards, spluttering and coughing against the wall. “Come on…let’s leave this cretin to his misery and his mind games, she misses you.”  
  
“She does?”   
  
“Uh huh. I saw something in her eyes the last time I went to see her, a sense of longing and feeling incomplete. She needs you, Jefferson.”  
  
He rolled his lips and turned to follow her, Henry walking close behind. “All right, let’s go…”


	15. Paintdrops & Teardrops

The drive from Gold’s shop toward the docks was deathly silent. Emma’s eyes darted between the road and Jefferson sat in the passenger seat. His hands were shaking, his body hunched over as if in pain. She glanced in the rear-view mirror at Henry, sat chewing the sleeve of his coat in the back seat.   
  
“Hey, fellas,” Emma said in her cheeriest voice, “This should be a happy occasion, now, surely?” She dropped her hand on top of Jefferson’s and gave it a shake, “You’re about to be reunited…”

He sighed, “I’m sorry, Emma…it’s just…I’ve been hoping for this day for such a long time that, now it’s here…I almost can’t believe it.”

“That makes sense, sure, but it’s happening, Jefferson. This time you _must_ believe.” She offered him a warm smile and refocused her attention on the road.

“So…you’ve met her before?”

“Yep,” Henry piped up, snapping out of his day dream and leaning forward to rest his arms on the front seats, “She came into the Sheriff’s office a few weeks ago, looking for the painting that Mr. Gold stole.”

“Oh. How…was she?”

“She looked well, but…” Emma bit her lip, worried about saying anything more.

Henry pulled himself between the seats and looked at him, a huge grin on his face, “You’re going to meet her soon, Jefferson. You can see for yourself!”

“Yeah,” Emma nodded, “We’re almost there.”

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when the yellow Bug pulled up at the side of the studio, streaks of vivid orange and red beamed across the bright white façade on the clapboard building.

“All right, you ready?” Emma asked, placing her hand on Jefferson’s shoulder.

He nodded and opened the car door, Emma following suit and pulling her seat forward for Henry to climb out. She led the way into the studio, peering into small prep rooms and a kitchen that branched off the short hallway.

“Skye?”

There was no sign of you. 

“Skye?”

The three visitors stepped through into the main workspace. Jefferson’s eyes were immediately wide as he was faced with dozens of paintings of the little redbrick house; the gardens, the kitchen overrun with teapots…everywhere his focus fell another memory enveloped him. He brushed his hand along the vivid green of the rolling lawn, closing his eyes, transported back to the idyllic peace they shared before Regina trampled all over it.

Henry and Emma wandered around, their eyes drawn to pieces that had been done since their first visit. You had been very busy, and your work had become less focused on the house and gardens, and more on the tiniest details you remembered. Henry gave Jefferson a nudge, pointing out a canvas no larger than a dinner plate. An intricate pattern of swirls and leaves, it matched the stitched design on his coat lapels perfectly.

Another canvas, still sat on the easel in the corner of the room, focused on Jefferson’s workroom, overflowing with hats of every shape, size and colour. The detailing was exquisite, with gold thread wrapped tightly around cotton reels balancing precariously on curved metal poles. He released a long sigh, running his fingertips across the canvas.

“Emma, hi I was just…” You came to an abrupt stop in the doorway, a fresh jar of water for paintbrushes in your hand. Your mouth dropped open, your stare frozen on the sight of the man stood in front of you. He turned around to face you, his eyes growing wide.

The jar slipped from your grasp as you lifted both hands up to your face, covering your mouth. It fell in slow motion, glass smashing on the stone floor and water covering your feet. You stepped backwards, brought back into the room with a jolt. “J…Jefferson…?” You stammered, squinting in his direction as the sun’s early morning rays illuminated the room in a bright white light. “You found me…”

He swallowed, and then glanced at Emma. She gave a gentle nod and nudged her head in your direction. He clasped his hands together to hide their shaking and moved a step forward, taking in an anxious breath before speaking, “R…Ra…Rapunzel, you remember…”

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence you’d covered the distance, falling against him, your hands on his cheeks as you kissed him, passionately. Instantly, he reciprocated, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you a foot off the ground as he spun you in a circle. Your shoulders were raised, your fingertips now stroking his face and running up into his hair as he pulled you closer, lips still locked.

When all the breath had left your bodies, you moved away just long enough to replenish before he pulled you into another kiss, this time softer and more tender. You could feel the eyes of your audience boring into your back, a giggle escaping as you felt your face begin to turn red. Jefferson laughed too, licking his lips as your foreheads met, eyes closed.

“My darling…it’s been too long.”

“Much too long…” you whispered, running your fingers up and down the nape of his neck. “I don’t know…what to say…”

“ _Anything_ …just say _anything_ , my beautiful Rapunzel. I never want to be without your voice in my ear ever again.”

“All right.” You touched his chin with your index finger, turning his head to the side to give you easy access to his ear. You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck and leaned in, “I…I dreamed about you every single night, in that place Regina kept me. I saw your face; your eyes sparkling with mischief, your smile that made me melt every single time…” You dropped a kiss just below his ear and pulled back, your eyes meeting. "You kept me sane...the thought of seeing your handsome face again, someday."

"Darling..." He gazed at you for a moment, taking you in like you were meeting for the first time. His hands ran up and down your arms, before his attention was caught by your hair. It just skimmed the bottom of your shoulder blades now, much shorter than when he’d last seen you. He took a few strands between his fingers and glided down to the ends, “I thought it couldn’t be cut…" His eyes returned to yours, "Rumpelstiltskin?”

You nodded, “Yes. As soon as I was taken, he and Regina…” You frowned, and then stepped backwards, remembering the onlookers on the other side of the room. Emma was stood behind Henry, her arms wrapped around him. You smiled and gave them a nod of thanks before turning back to him, “Cutting didn’t destroy its magic…”

"It...it didn't? Oh, Rapunzel..." He reached out, taking your hands and guiding you over to the work table. You both perched on stools and stared at each other, disbelieving.

Silence permeated the room for a good few minutes before Henry spoke up, “So…do you remember everything, then?”

You tore your eyes away from Jefferson and nodded, “Yes, everything. I didn’t at first; I was just living a life, content painting dog portraits and commissions for the local shops.” You dropped your head, tears pricking at your eyes as Jefferson ran his thumb across the back of your hand. You smiled feebly and continued, “Then suddenly I started having dreams about a little red brick house surrounded by beautiful gardens in the most vivid details, but I’d never seen this place before.”

“That was the house we lived in, darling…”

“ _Was?_ ”

“I…I couldn’t stay there after what happened to you. It didn’t feel safe anymore.”

“Where did you go?”

“I found a tiny little cottage in the Enchanted Forest…I needed to be as near to you as possible.”

You rolled your lips and bobbed your head, “You were so close and yet… Oh Jefferson…” You reached a hand out to caress his cheek, “…What a mess, huh?”

He laughed under his breath, covering your hand with his own, “That’s an understatement.”

“Was the house the trigger then…for your memories coming back, I mean?” Henry asked, determined to hear the rest of the story. Emma gave him a sharp poke in his side, feeling slightly embarrassed by his bold line of questioning.

“No… _well_ I guess it was the jump off point but no, the real catalyst came one night a few months later. I had a dream I couldn’t explain…”

“How so?” Emma asked, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table and leaning forward on her folded arms.

“You know how they say we can’t dream about faces we’ve never seen? Well, suddenly I was doing just that…or at least I _thought_ I was.”

“Jefferson…” Emma whispered.

“Mm hmm.” You gazed at him and squeezed his hand, “You were all I dreamt about, my love, from that moment on. At first they were flashes of memories, really hazy and hard to concentrate on, but slowly you came into focus.”

“Aww,” Henry grinned, covering his mouth as Emma gave him a more gentle poke in the ribs, “Sorry…”

Your head dropped, your cheeks turning a bright shade of pink. You weren’t used to having people hang on your every word. You rose to your feet and pulled Jefferson up, “Can I show you something?”

He nodded, tears cresting his eyes, “Of course.”

"We won't be long," you smiled at the others. You turned and tugged him out of the room and down the short white hallway, taking a right into another one with a single plain oak door at the far end. He drew you back a little, falling against the wall and wrapping his arms around you for a more passionate kiss. When you parted, he took forever to open his eyes again, too pre-occupied with savouring the taste of your kiss. “I missed you so much, darling, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to breathe without you…”

“Well, no need to worry about that anymore, my love…” Smoothing out your dress, you beckoned him towards you, then wrapped your hand around the doorknob and twisted it, your back to the door as it opened to reveal a small gallery, filled with quite possibly one hundred paintings, all with one subject matter…him.

He gasped, his hand covering his mouth as he stepped into the room and turned to his left. “Rapunzel…good grief…”

“They’re in chronological order, from my first dream, when I could just make out a few shapes, all the way to l…” You looked away for a moment, emotions assaulting your senses, “All the way to last night.”

He spun round to stare at you, his mouth dropped, “Darling…”

“I told you, once I started seeing hints of you, the dreams never stopped…and I…I remembered living in…” Your eyes wandered up to the ceiling as tears began to fall down your cheeks, “…When Regina put me in another tower, and I just waited for my hair to grow…literally, I could see it growing right before my eyes, Jefferson…”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, gathering you up into a hug. Your body relaxed instantly, your arms looping around his waist and your hands resting against his back. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to rescue you…from that tower, or from here…” he sniffed, the fine details of the paintings pulling his focus.

“Please, don’t apologise, Jefferson. There was nothing that could be done, and how were you to know that I was here?” You pulled back, “There’s one thing I don’t understand, though… _why_ did Regina take me? That part is a bit of a blur.”

“She felt wronged by me, and she couldn’t take Grace so…”

“Who’s Grace?”

His eyes sprung open wide, his body frozen in position, “Darling you…don’t…” He placed one hand on his hip, the other splayed over his mouth. “She’s your… _our_ daughter.”

You stumbled backwards, your breath catching in your chest, “W…what? I…I have a…a daughter?” Tears streamed down your cheeks as your eyes stayed fixed on him, your heart pounding so heavily it caused you pain.

“Yes…oh, my darling, you saved her…”

“I did?” you sobbed.

“Yes. You protected her, in every possible way, Rapunzel. You let Regina take you, stopping her from doing goodness knows what.” He covered the distance that had appeared between you, pulling you into another hug and kissing your hair. “You saved us both.”

“So…so w…where is she, now?”

“She’s safe, and happy…”

“Is she back at your house?”

“No, I…erm…It’s hard to explain…”

You pushed him away a little. “What did Regina do?”

He blinked several times, shocked by the change in your voice. “She...she tricked me. Grace has been living her friend and her parents ever since…”

“Oh, Jefferson…” you sobbed, tightening your hold around him, “She took everything from us, didn’t she…?”

“Yes, but at least we’ve found each other again, my darling. You’ve managed to escape her grasp.” He pulled back and looked into your eyes, “Do you know…how you’ve got your memories back?”

You shook your head, “No idea.”

“Because of this…” he whispered, gently taking a lock between his fingers and moving it to catch the light. “The magic in your hair resisted the curse Regina placed on you, or at least deflected the majority of its power, so eventually your real memories broke through.”

“How poetic…” you sighed, dropping your head back onto his chest and listening to the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat.

He kissed your hair and whispered, “I was lost…now I’m holding you in my arms. I…I’m struggling to express just how happy I am.”

”I know what you mean. This feels like one of my dreams, Jefferson, and I’m clinging onto you so tightly to make sure you don’t slip away again…”

“I won’t, my beautiful Rapunzel. We’re together again, at last, and I won’t let _anything_ separate us again.” He lifted your chin with his finger and placed a soft, lingering kiss on your lips, “I promise.”

You smiled and offered him a kiss in return, “Thank you, my love…”

Emma and Henry peeked round the corner of the door, knocking once to announce their arrival.

“Whoa!” Henry gasped, stepping straight into the room and absorbing the sight of the many paintings propped up against the walls.

“Sorry, we…we aren’t interrupting are we?” Emma grimaced, yanking Henry back by his jacket collar.

“No, no, it’s all right.”

“So…these paintings are from your dreams, then?” Emma asked, pointing at one particularly detailed piece.

You nodded, rolling your lips as you snuggled down into Jefferson’s arms. After a few minutes of contemplative silence, watching mother and child admiring your work and sharing precious time together, you felt a lump catch in your throat. The image of the little girl looking up at the intertwined fingers in your painting… _that was Grace_. Deep down you must’ve known about her. You looked up at Jefferson and bit your lip, “So what do we do now, my love?”

“Now…” he stated, his voice powerful and commanding, “Now we bring our family back together.”


	16. Detour

“So we’re not staying here…in Storybrooke, I mean?” you asked, packing your clothes into suitcases that were sprawled out across your bed.

Jefferson gathered up your toiletries in the cramped little bathroom and joined you in the bedroom. “No, darling. As soon as this spell is broken we’re going home…”

You stood up straight, placing your hands on your hips and tipping your head to the side. “Do you think that will happen anytime soon?”

“Yes, I do. There’s something in the air, and I’m not sure what it is, but…” he sighed, reaching his hand out to your waist and pulling you into his arms, “It won’t be long until we can get Grace and go home, back to the life that was stolen from us.” He smiled and kissed your nose.

 “Sounds good to me,” you murmured, settling your head against his chest. “Have Emma and Henry gone?” you asked, after a few minutes in his embrace.

“Yes,” he nodded as you parted, “They put as many of your belongings in the car as they possibly could, and headed off.” He checked his watch, “In fact, they’re probably at my house now.”

You bobbed your head and returned to your suitcases, neatly folding the last few pieces of clothing and laying them carefully in place. You zipped up the cases and lifted one, its heaviness surprising you. Jefferson hurried to grab the other two, reaching past you to stand them up by the door. As he returned to standing in front of you, your heart fluttered, taking you back to the first time you spoke, all those years ago in the forest. You could hear his voice, clear as day…

“ _You’re new_.”

_“No I’m not.”_

_“Yes…yes you are… I travel…a lot, throughout these magical realms, and I’m positive I’ve never seen your pretty face before…I would’ve remembered.”_

He slowed down, his body coming to a stop a few inches from yours. You could feel his eyes looking down on you, gazing at you. He was intrigued by your change in demeanour. He shifted his weight for a second, watching as you flinched ever so slightly. “Darling…?”

You lifted your head up just enough to look at him through your long eyelashes, your heart pounding as you swallowed nervously. He raised his hand to your face, delicately sweeping a strand of hair away from your eyes and tucking it behind your ear, your skin tingling from his feather-light touch.

“I…I…”

“What is it, Rapunzel?” he whispered, moving your chin upwards so he could see your eyes properly.

A soft smile appeared on your face as your fingertips traced the pattern on his waistcoat. You felt him pull away slightly as your hand drifted upwards, taking hold of his scarf.

“Rapunzel, please don’t…”

”Why not…?” Before he had a chance to respond, you tugged at it, letting it fall to the floor by your side. You gasped as you caught sight of the scar that snaked around his neck, covering your mouth with your hand, before reaching out and touching the line. “What on earth? Jefferson?”

He rolled his lips before managing a weak smile, “It’s nothing, darling…a…a story for another time…”

“Really?”

He nodded, “Really, I promise.”

A frown covered your face as you gave him a side-eyed glance, unconvinced by his reassurance. He shuffled closer, catching you off guard. Flashes of more memories appeared right in front of you, of him lying on the ground, _asleep?_ You weren’t sure… You saw yourself falling to your knees, your hands either side of his face and tears pouring down your cheeks. The soft lilt of a song brushed past you, hovering in the air and serenading the rest of the image. You leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Your first kiss. Nothing had ever felt more right than this moment, as he woke and pulled you into him, his arms entangling you as the kiss deepened.

His hand ran up your cheek and into your hair as he gazed upon you, lost in thoughts. You looked peaceful, yet contemplative. He laughed softly under his breath, wishing he could join you in this far-off place. He leaned in, hesitating before moving to kiss your lips. Your body relaxed, your eyes falling shut as his hand glided down your back.

You were back in the tower, that lonely place where you’d spent eighteen years of your life, but this time you weren’t alone. He was sauntering over to you with that mischievous grin on his face, and as he got closer, you could sense that everything was about to change…

Another kiss landed on your lips, this time full of passion and desire. You were lost. His hands moved to your waist whilst yours slid up into his hair, curling into fists and tugging on the thick, dark strands. He let out a soft moan, which made your pulse race.

When you parted, he whispered breathlessly, “Are you back in the room?”

“Uh huh,” you smirked, biting your lip, “And I think I just remembered what happens next…”

“Oh…is that so?”

You nodded then wrapped your shaking fingers around the buttons on his shirt, your eyelashes fluttering as you looked up at him, smiling down at you. “I’ve waited for you for too long, my love…” You undid the first few buttons ever so slowly, your fingertips barely brushing against his skin.

He took a sharp breath, electricity pulsing through his veins. Just as you’d dreamed of him, he’d been unable to see anything but you when he closed his eyes to sleep. Over the years, his memories of you; your smile, your laugh, the scent of your hair…the soft touch of every inch of your skin. He’d prayed for this moment, to have you back, for so long that he wasn’t sure if it was real or simply a figment of his imagination.

As you undid the last button, he leaned in, running his hand from your cheek into your hair as he kissed your neck. Your eyes fell shut as you tilted your head back and relaxed your shoulders, absorbing his touch. Each kiss brought back another memory, vivid and enchanting. You sighed heavily.

He moved back, your gaze falling upon each other as he caught his breath. “Darling…”

“Kiss me again,” you breathed, “Please?”

He smirked and grasped the bottom of your t-shirt, pulling it up over your head when you lifted your arms. As he threw it on the floor, his focus was fixed on you, a warm smile spreading across his face, “My goodness, you’re so beautiful…” he whispered. As you readied the words to respond, he fell to his knees, his hands coming to rest on your back and pulling you forward, his lips falling on your stomach.

You let out a soft giggle, which only made him do it again, whilst his eyes stayed fixated on you. Your fingers pushed through his hair, swirling and gently tugging at it whilst he clambered to his feet, his kiss now moving from your navel upwards, touching every inch before finding your lips. You both laughed when neither would pull away, leaving you locked in the kiss for a good while, even after he moved his hands and lifted you up, your legs wrapping around his waist whilst your hands scrambled to pull his open shirt off and drop it on the floor beside yours.

By the time he laid you down on the bed, you were both desperate for air, and to remove the rest of each other’s clothes. The laughter increased as items flew through the air, and you sat up, interrupting his plans with some of your own. Kisses were hastily scattered all over his chest before you slowed down a little, taking your time to re-familiarise yourself with every single inch of his body. The thin red scar around his neck caught your attention, your fingertips touching it with great care. “Jefferson…” you sighed.

“I’m here, my darling, and I’m all right,” he replied, taking hold of your hand and kissing the back of it. “Now...let’s get back to taking care of you, huh?” He licked his lips before that mischievous grin appeared on his face, just like the first time, and he pushed you backwards, moving to hover over you.

With the warmth of the mid-morning sunlight filtering in through the roof lights above, Jefferson made love to you, slowly, giving you both time to savour every moment. Hands moved all over, caressing every curve of your body as you did the same. All those years apart simply melted away, banished with each kiss, blown away with every gasp and whispered name. You were safe again.

As you reached out, grasping the sheets in the final moments, his hands glided along your arms, turning your hands and interlocking his fingers with yours. You stared into each other’s eyes as you both lost your breath, unable to contain your emotions any longer. He collapsed onto you, his breath against your neck whilst you stared up at the soft fluffy white clouds that floated by up in the sky. The world had never looked so vibrant and optimistic.

“Rapunzel…darling…” he exhaled, dropping tender kisses along your neck and collarbone, “I love you.”

“I know…” you whispered through happy tears, “My goodness, I know…And I love you…”

He pushed himself up a little, so he could see your face, “I’ve said it before but…I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you. Those kind, beautiful [e/c] eyes, that golden hair…your warmth….”

You blushed, “Jefferson…”

“I loved every part of you before I knew every part of you,” he chuckled, sliding his hand up your side, “You are perfect, my darling.” He glanced around the room, then back to you, sweeping a strand of hair away from your eye, “ _This_ is perfect. I’m the happiest man alive right now…thank you.” He leaned in, giving you a delicate kiss.

You ran your hands up and down his arms, smiling up at him, “Oh, Jefferson, I should be thanking _you_ , for everything you’ve done. I was lost, scared of my own shadow…you saved me. _Again_.”

He laughed under his breath and shook his head.

“I’m serious,” you giggled giving him a gentle shake, “After everything we’ve been through, for you to find me again just shows me how much you love me. You could’ve walked away, found someone else and carried on with your life, but you didn’t. You found me again, like I said. And now look at us…” you shrugged, your eyes darting from one side to the other, “Naked within an hour of meeting again.”

He laughed aloud, dropping his head onto the curve where your shoulder meets your neck. “We did get sidetracked a bit, didn’t we?”

“That’s an understatement,” you mocked joyfully.

He twisted around to see the suitcases, all packed and standing by the door, ready to go. “We should…erm…probably get back to the boring, practical stuff, huh?”

“Well…I’d prefer to stay here looking up at you but…I suppose the quicker we get moved, the quicker we get to do this again…?” He spun back round to face you, shock written all across your face. You wiggled your eyebrows and licked your lips.

He smirked and dropped from his hands to his elbows, making you lose your breath and kissing you passionately. “When you put it like _that_ …”


	17. Bringing the Family Back Together

A few months after you and Jefferson had been reunited; Emma broke the curse, awakening the entire population from a waking sleep. Everyone gathered in the centre of town to berate Regina, who seemed so much less terrifying in these new mortal surroundings. She quivered as the crowds grew angrier, outraged at the deception and demanding to return to their true homes.  
  
You and Jefferson didn’t join in, choosing instead to watch from across the street. Over the course of your time living together in the mansion, able to see Grace with her surrogate family every day, you’d talked with great excitement about the day you’d have her back. How you’d both run to her, hugging her tight and saying all the things you’d not had a chance to… But now the curse had been lifted and your courage had evaporated.    
  
“What if she resents me?”  
  
"Rapunzel…” Jefferson sighed, his hands on your shoulders, “She’s missed you, almost as much as I did. She will be thrilled.”  
  
“Yes, but…”  
  
“Darling,” he pulled you down to sit on a bench and took hold of your hands, “What’s wrong?”  
  
“I…I’m afraid she’s going to think I abandoned her. All the talking, the dreaming I’ve done…it was just a mask.”  
  
He could feel your hands trembling against his own, so he scooted over to you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you in for a hug. “Oh, my darling, I understand. We won’t do it right now, okay? We’ve got some other things to sort out before we go home anyway, so we’ll do those first, yes?”  
  
You nodded.  
  
“That should give you enough time to prepare.” He placed a kiss in your hair and fell silent; the pair of you watching as David…or _Charming_ as you knew him, stood up in front of the angry mob across the street and took charge.   
  
Jefferson squinted, his eyes following Regina as she slinked away and into her car. He patted your leg, “Come on, darling. Time to make _our_ feelings known.”  
  
Xxx  
  
 _Knock, knock, knock  
  
_ Regina was too busy dashing around the house to hear, as she tried to pack as many things as she could into bags.   
  
 _Knock, knock, knock  
  
_ “Huh?” She peered out from behind a curtain, but could only see the top of a blonde woman’s head. She crept downstairs with one of the bags, dropping it at the bottom of the stairs and tip-toeing to the door. She took a breath and unlocked it slowly, opening it just an inch.  
  
“Hello, Regina,” Jefferson smirked.  
  
Regina shrieked and tried to slam the door closed, but he threw his hand out, pushing against it until she stumbled backwards.  
  
“Mind if we come in…?” He turned to you, allowing you to head in first, “I trust you remember my darling Rapunzel?”  
  
“How could I forget?” Regina sneered.  
  
You held your finger up, silencing her, “Ah, ah, ah Regina, I’d watch that tone if I were you.”  
  
“Look who’s back together, again,” Regina growled, ignoring your warning, “Is it true what they say; absence makes the heart grow fonder?”  
  
You lashed out, slapping her across the face. “How dare you!”  
  
“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” she said, bringing her hand up to her stinging cheek and dropping her head.   
  
“You really are a heartless bitch, Regina,” you seethed, getting close to her and following her face. “A cruel, angry, _vile_ excuse for a Queen.”  
  
Jefferson moved over to the wall beside you, leaning against it and folding his arms.   
  
“You want to control her?” Regina asked.  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“Look at me!” you screamed. When she lifted her focus to you, you stood up straight, pulling your shoulders back, “I want you to know what you did…”  
  
“I _know_ what I did, _Rapunzel!_ I took you away from him, from poor little Grace. I ruined your life, blah, blah, blah! ”  
  
“I didn’t mean that…”  
  
Jefferson frowned, “Darling?”  
  
“When she and Rumpelstiltskin took me that day…” you glared at her, “When you pulled me away from my _new-born child_ …and cut my hair, the magic lived.”  
  
“What’s your point?” Regina asked.  
  
“Well, that never happened when I was younger. When _Mother_ cut my hair the first time, it turned black, then it turned to ash. But then Rumpelstiltskin comes along and does the same thing and it..." You smirked, "It was as if my magic was…developing.”  
  
“Oh my goodness…”  
  
“So just imagine how much more it could develop over, say, _nine years?”  
  
_ Regina’s eyes grew wide. “T…that’s…”  
  
“…Why the curse failed on you…” Jefferson interrupted, his mouth dropping open.  
  
You nodded, but kept her eyes on the Queen, “Being cooped up in a tower for all those years certainly gave me time to learn, to see what I could do. And now I have exactly what you have." You shifted your focus to the left, "Though judging by the hastily-packed bags at the foot of the stairs, you haven’t got yours back yet, no?”  
  
Regina shook her head, making herself as small and inconspicuous as she could.   
  
"Oh dear, now that _is_ a shame."  
  
“Wh…what are you going to do?”   
  
“I don’t know,” you smirked, splaying your fingers and firing spells between your hands, as if you were throwing a ball back and forth, “I could take a leaf out of your book and lock you away, or perhaps curse you for all eternity, or...rip your heart out of your chest.” You stepped up, thrusting your hand towards her, causing her to scream.  
  
“Rapunzel!” Jefferson shouted.  
  
You tipped your head to the side, your hand hovering mere inches from her. “So you don’t want it to happen to _you_ , Regina…but anyone else is fair game? Hmm, not nice to be on the receiving end, is it?”  
  
Regina breathed a sigh of relief as you stepped back and sank against the wall, her eyes glossy.  
  
Jefferson let out a loud breath and moved towards you, his arms ready to pull you into a hug, “Darling, what are you doing?”  
  
“I’m… I’m proving a point, my love,” you whispered, your boldness evaporating and your voice catching in your throat, “She kept me locked in a room for _all that time_ , away from _you,_ away from…Grace.” You rolled your lips as a single tear escaped down your cheek.   
  
He embraced you, holding you tight and kissing your hair. “What do you want to do?”  
  
“I…I want to go home…” you spluttered into his shoulder.  
  
“All right, we will, just…”  
  
Regina took this moment as her opportunity to sneak away, shuffling past you both and heading towards the kitchen.   
  
You lashed out, firing a spell out of your fingers and tripping her up. “Enough!” you yelled, moving away from Jefferson and stomping over to her, sprawled out on the floor. “I’m not going to hurt you, Regina, even if every inch of me wants you to suffer for what you did, but…” you sighed, dropping your shoulders, “I just want to go home…I want to go and get my baby girl back and…”  
  
Jefferson stepped in front of you and held his hand out, pulling Regina to her feet. “Did you get that?” he growled, “We want out of this place and back to our house, without threat of you _or_ Rumple coming along and doing this all over again. Okay?”   
  
She nodded, but kept her mouth shut. You shifted your weight behind him and Regina flinched.   
  
“Okay?!” Jefferson screamed.  
  
“Yes! Wh…what do you need?”  
  
“My hat, and Dotty’s shoes.”  
  
“You can’t…”  
  
“We’re taking the shoes, Regina! There’s not a chance in hell that I’d leave you with the means to get to us again! Did…did you not listen to a word I just said?!”  
  
“All right, all right…” She dropped her shoulders, rolled her eyes and strode past him, giving you a wide berth as she headed for her office. You grabbed hold of Jefferson’s sleeve as you both followed her, feeling calmed just being close to him. You came to a stop in front of Regina’s grand mayoral desk and watched as she grabbed a small step and stood on it, still needing to reach on her tiptoes for the familiar hat box on top of a seven foot high bookcase.   
  
Jefferson moved to stand by her, taking the box from her hands and placing it on the desk. Seeing it for the first time in years, you felt an overwhelming sense of calm rush over you. He gave a short nod to you and you returned it, letting a stream of air escape from your lips.   
  
“So that’s that,” Regina huffed as she climbed back down from the desk brushed her hands together to banish the dust on her fingers.   
  
“And the other item…?” you sneered.  
  
“Ugh, fine.” She walked past you and headed for the stairs.  
  
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jefferson called after her.  
  
“Gee, now where do you suppose I keep a pair of bright red sparkly stilettos, Hatter? Hmm?”  
  
Walking into Regina’s cavernous closet, the shoes stood out a mile, their ruby red sequins dazzling in the morning sunshine. She picked them up and handed them to you, whilst Jefferson held tight to the handle of the hat box. “R…right, you’ve got everything you came for…now would you please leave?”  
  
“Oh, it will be our pleasure to get as far away from you as possible, Regina, don’t you worry.”  
  
You closed the distance between yourself and her, so she took a timid step backwards, her eyes fixed on your hands that never seemed to stop moving and conjuring tiny spells, “Now you listen to me… If you so much as cough in the vicinity of a portal, let alone set foot in our house ever again, I will finish you myself, do you hear? Don’t you _ever_ come near my family again, Regina. Don’t even let it cross your mind.”  
  
She offered a feeble nod in your direction, whilst holding her breath.  
  
“Good,” you said, sliding a finger across her cheek, a bright spark of light kicking up as you moved away, causing her to flinch once more. You and Jefferson turned to leave, shoes and hat in hand, but when you reached the bedroom door, you called back to her over your shoulder, “And pass the message on to Rumpelstiltskin, too!” With a flick of your wrist, the doors slammed shut behind you, leaving the once fearsome Queen all alone with her thoughts.  
  
Xxx  
  
“What time is it?”   
  
“1 o’clock. Let’s give those back to their rightful owner, shall we?” Jefferson asked, pointing at the sparkling red shoes.  
  
Heading across town, you arrived at a grand house, its style quite familiar to Jefferson with its wrap-around porch and wind chimes everywhere. He led the way, heading up the steps and taking a cautious glance around as he approached the door.   
  
“Everything okay, my love?”  
  
“Yes, I…erm, just had an unexpected greeting the first time I went to Dotty’s house.” He rapped on the door twice. Curtains in the living room window were hastily parted, Dotty’s eyes searching the vicinity and growing wide when she saw him.   
  
A few seconds later, after pulling back many, many locks, Dotty flung the door open, her mouth gaping, “Jefferson! Oh my goodness!” She flew at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a friendly embrace, and offering you a warm smile. She pulled back, “Is…is this…?”  
  
He rolled his lips and nodded, extending a hand out for you to take and pulling you forward, “This, Dotty, is my darling Rapunzel. Reunited after all this time.”  
  
“Hello,” she beamed, before a frown took hold and consumed her joy, “I’m sorry…”  
  
“What for?”  
  
“Giving Regina the…shoes… For setting all the events in motion. I never meant for any of this...”  
  
You took a step towards her and placed your hand on her shoulder, “It wasn’t your fault, Dotty. She threatened you, Granny told us at the time. She would’ve taken them from anyone.”   
  
She wiped at a tear that just crested her eye, and then nodded. “I know, I just…I can’t help but feel responsible. And she still has those damn shoes.”  
  
“Oh, you mean these?” you asked, pulling them out of your deceptively sized bag, rediscovered in Jefferson’s mansion.   
  
“Wh…what? How?” she stammered, blinking wildly and taking them from you. “How did you get them back?”  
  
“We asked,” you smirked, giving Jefferson a nudge.   
  
“Wow…” she hugged them against her chest, “Thank you so much.”  
  
As Jefferson opened his mouth to speak, a loud meow came from the hallway behind Dotty, and a large, ginger cat wrapped itself around her legs. “Is that…Bert?” he swallowed.  
  
“Yes, it is. I’m guessing that his curse won’t lift until we get home, though…”  
  
“Thank goodness for that! _Beware of the cat_ ,” he chuckled to himself, reaching down and giving him a stroke. The cat hissed viciously, all the fur around his neck standing on end. Jefferson jumped backwards, readjusted his coat lapels and changed the subject, “So…what did the curse turn you into?”  
  
“A hoarder,” she laughed, her enviable mass of red curly hair falling over her face, “A cat lady and a hoarder…a _kook!_ That’s nice, isn’t it? Thanks Regina. You?”  
  
“An artist.”  
  
“Myself.”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Yeah…that was my prize. You got cats, I got my memories.”  
  
“Oh…”  
  
An awkward silence ensued.  
  
“So…erm, anyway…it was lovely meeting you, Dotty, but we have somewhere to be very soon,” you piped up, clapping your hands together once and rocking on your heels.   
  
“Yes, yes, of course. Thanks again for the shoes; you’ve probably saved Oz, y’know.”  
  
“Glad we could help. See you around, Dot, take care of yourself…”  
  
“You too Jefferson, _both_ of you…good luck!” She gave you both a hug and stepped inside, watching as you headed down the path to the sidewalk before closing the door.   
  
Jefferson gave your hand a gentle squeeze as you walked towards town and the bus stop, “You ready?”  
  
“Yes, let’s do this.”  
  
Xxx  
  
You huddled around the corner from the bus stop, the chill of the wind almost overwhelming. You shivered, so he tugged at your scarf, pulling it a little higher around your neck. “Thank you,” you smiled, “I love you, Jefferson.”   
  
“I love you too,” he said, leaning in and giving you a soft kiss. “Just one more thing to do, then we go home.”  
  
At that moment, a bright yellow school bus rolled up to the stop, the sound of children happily chatting and giggling pulling you away from his gaze. He took your hand and smiled, “Right…”  
  
For a split second you contemplated running the other way, even planning an escape route in your head, between the parked cars and across the street and down another alleyway. Your heart pounded and you felt slightly dizzy, all the anticipation threatening to bubble over. You gripped his hand so tightly it was turning ghostly white, as he yanked you forward and round the corner toward the children, all walking in away from you. You pulled your hand out of his grip, your emotions finally managing to get their way. He glanced round at you, seeing the fear in your eyes.   
  
"G…Grace,” he shouted, turning to face the crowd. “Grace.”  
  
A young girl of nine years, tall for her age and with cascading locks of golden hair like her mother, spun on her heel, a look of shock across her face. “Papa?”   
  
He bit his lip and bobbed his head.  
  
“Papa!” She ran to him, falling into his arms and scrunching her eyes shut as he dropped to his knees, all of the past seeping away. You clamped your hand you’re your mouth watching them, tears streaming down your cheeks as they hugged for what felt like an eternity, reunited at last.  
  
As she opened her eyes, she spotted you. “M..Mom…?”   
  
You gasped, spluttering as you nodded and took a small step forward.  
  
Grace pulled back from Jefferson, looking for reassurance. He nodded too, offering her a smile of pure joy. She responded with a smile of her own, looking to you for a moment before returning to him.  
  
“It’s all right, sweetheart…”   
  
She cautiously stepped away from her father’s arms, and moved in front of you, studying your features through squinted eyes, whilst you fidgeted and took calming breaths as casually as you could.  
  
The wind picked up again, whipping both yours and Grace’s hair up before it passed you by. Her face instantly softened, and she _knew_. You were the mother she’d longed for all these years, the beautiful woman her father had told her about every night when he tucked her in to bed. You were standing in front of her, praying for her to love you, and how could she not?   
  
She ran to you as you fell to your knees, just like Jefferson had a moment ago, embracing each other, clinging on as if your lives depended on it.   
  
“I’ve waited for this moment for so long,” you whispered to her.   
  
“Oh, Mom…you’re just like how I pictured you...”  
  
You leaned back, touching her cheek, “My beautiful Grace…” Your words were lost, looking into her eyes and seeing the hope and spirit that shone brightly. You pulled her into another hug, beckoning Jefferson down to join you.   
  
He gathered the pair of you up in his arms, kissing you both on your hair. Finally, for the first time since the day of Grace’s birth, you were a whole family. The only thing left to do now was go home.


	18. Goodbye Storybrooke

“And then, your Mother and I were faced with this _enormous_ tree monster, as tall as a giant and twice as ugly!” Jefferson said, flinging his arms out wide, as the three of you walked down the street towards the mansion, “Honestly, Grace, we were lucky to escape with our lives,” he winked, nudging the girl playfully with his elbow. Her giggling was infectious.  
  
“ _No we didn’t_ …” you teased, “…Don’t believe a word he says, Grace.”   
  
He grinned at you, which only made your daughter laugh even more. You stuck your tongue out at him and he stopped dead in his tracks, planting his hands on his hips. He flicked the tails of his coat out and crouched down in front of Grace, smirking, “Your mother has a secret…want to see?”  
  
“Jefferson!” you gasped, “Shh…”  
  
“Well, you spoiled my fun,” he grinned.  
  
“Yes, but…”  
  
“Oh, Mom, tell me what it is…please,” Grace said.  
  
“All right…” You glanced over each shoulder. Despite the curse being lifted, you weren’t ready for everyone to see you what you could do. When you were satisfied that your family was alone, you lowered yourself down to look Grace in the eye and splayed your fingers. As she and Jefferson watched, huddled together against the chilly breeze, tiny sparks of multi-coloured light flickered from your fingertips, gradually getting more powerful until they morphed into a bright white rabbit, hopping around in the air between your hands.  
  
Grace gasped and looked at her father, her amazement unmistakeable, “The White Rabbit, Papa…”  
  
“Incredible, isn’t it?” he sighed, his eyes flitting between you and the spell. “Just…incredible.”  
  
You rose up, straightening your back and pulling your arms apart. The animal grew in size and began bounding further out. Grace tried to chase it, and it was as if the rabbit had a mind of its own, hopping left and right to escape her. She gave up, her laughter all consuming. As she turned to face you, you gave a flick of your wrist and the rabbit came back, coming to a stop next to her and rising up onto its hind legs. Grace smiled at it and patted above its head, sending soft plumes of sparkling dust twirling up into the air.   
  
Jefferson wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close, both of you looking at your daughter. He dropped a kiss on your lips and whispered, “You are amazing, darling.”  
  
You blushed and gave him a kiss, “Thank you.” You clicked your fingers and the rabbit hopped away, slowly vanishing into thin air as it crested the gentle hill. With one final wave to Grace, it was gone. “Your party trick next, my love,” you whispered, tapping him on the nose.  
  
Grace spun round and raced over to you, throwing her arms around you both, “That was amazing, Mom, will you teach me how to do that, one day?”  
  
“Well,” you said, “You need a hint of magic to begin with…” You ran your fingers softly through her golden hair and smiled, watching the strands sparkle and gleam, “It looks like you might’ve inherited some from me, so of course I’ll teach you, but not ‘til you’re old enough.”   
  
She nodded enthusiastically and turned to set off walking again, a slight spring in her step. Jefferson squeezed you tight and you both followed, feeling content as the setting sun bathed you in orange light.  
  
As you approached the mansion, you squinted, spotting a person sitting on the wall in front of the driveway, a bike sprawled out on the pavement in front of him. “Henry?”   
  
“There you are! I hoped I hadn’t missed you…” He stood up and met you half way.  
  
“We’re going now, just got to collect my hat, and we’ll be on our way,” Jefferson smiled, reaching out and taking Grace’s hand, “All thanks to you.”  
  
“It was nothing,” Henry said, his cheeks turning pink as he felt Grace’s attention focus on him, “I’m just glad to see Operation Phoenix was a complete success.”  
  
“It really was,” you laughed, “You’re quite the miracle worker, Henry.”  
  
“Thanks.” He dropped his head and fidgeted with the sleeve of his coat, “I’m…I’m sorry for everything Regina put you all through…”  
  
“Hey…” you said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You’ve no reason to apologise, okay? What’s done is done, and we’ve made our feelings known to her…”  
  
“Oh, I saw,” he said, perking up, “She seemed a bit scared at the mention of your name.”  
  
“Well, that’s one way of keeping her at bay, I suppose.”   
  
He checked his watch and rocked back and forth on his shoes, “I guess I should be getting back home…Emma and Mary Margaret went through some portal to goodness-knows-where, so Regina’s worrying and wants to keep me close by.” He rolled his eyes, “Which is code for _get upstairs and do your_ _homework_.”   
  
You and Jefferson chuckled, but fell silent as Grace pulled her hand free from her father’s and stepped forward.   
  
“I’ll miss you, Henry,” she said with a sad smile, “Thank you for bringing my family back together.” She leant forward and kissed his cheek.  
  
“I…erm…it was…nothing, but…but…I’ll miss you…too.” He covered his face with his hands and sank lower into his coat, “Good luck.”  
  
Jefferson held out his hand for Henry to shake, and then stepped away, opening his arms wide for Grace. They huddled together whilst you took both of Henry’s hands and moved back to sit on the wall.   
  
“Keep watching out for the people of this town, Henry. They’re so lucky to have you.”  
  
He nodded, but dropped his head, averting his eyes.  
  
“And don’t worry about Emma, y’hear? She’s a fighter. She’ll be absolutely fine.”  
  
He nodded again, his bottom lip now quivering. As you opened your mouth to offer him some more reassuring words, he flung his arms open and hugged you tight, his hands gripping onto the back of your coat so tightly his knuckles were white. “Goodbye, Rapunzel...I’ll miss you.”  
  
“Aww, I’ll miss you too.” You pulled back and wiped a tear off his cheek, “We’ll see each other again. I guarantee it.”  
  
“Okay,” he said, managing a smile. You hugged again and he stood up, brushed himself down, and stood over his bike, lifting it. “See you again, soon, then.” He gave Jefferson, Grace and you a wave and a grin and peddled away, ringing his bike bell twice as he zoomed round the corner and out of sight.  
  
You moved to the bottom of the driveway and looked at your family, “Ready?”  
  
“Ready!” they replied in tandem.  
  
The three of you headed up to the house. Jefferson ran inside to the kitchen and pulled his hat out of the box, dusted the top and gave the opulent house – his personal prison for who-knows how many years – a sharp nod of goodbye, before spinning on his heel and marching down the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him.  
  
You set off walking round to the garden at the back of the house, watching closely as Grace peered over the fence into next doors garden. She frowned, recognising the swing set and the large tree that she had played around on many a sunny day. You said nothing, but wrapped your arm around her, pulling her towards you and giving her a sideways hug.   
  
“All right, my darlings…gather round and hold hands,” Jefferson said, stepping into the middle of the neat lawn.   
  
You stopped next him, Grace next to you, and held your hand out to her. She took it and grinned at you, whilst her hand shook frantically in yours. You squeezed it gently and gazed at her, “Everything will be all right…”  
  
Jefferson lifted the hat, holding the brim of it loosely in his hand. He licked his lips and whispered, “So long, Storybrooke,” before flinging it into the middle with a twist, and grabbing your outstretched hand.   
  
You’d seen this spectacle many times now, but this time was different. Maybe it was the presence of magic in such high concentration in a non-magic world, but the hat seemed to spin faster and faster, its velocity increasing as the sky filled with sparks of light. The wind whipped up around you, lifting your hair. Loose leaves on nearby trees were pulled into the almost tornado-like funnel, but you weren’t scared.   
  
A bright column of light shot up into the heavens. Jefferson shielded his eyes with his free hand, and looked over at Grace. She was beaming, her laughter and unmistakable excitement just audible over the noises surrounding you. He gave your hand a shake and you looked at him, your smile wide. “This is it…” he shouted, getting Grace’s attention too, “On my count, we jump…”  
  
You nodded.  
  
“Three…”  
  
You all gripped each other’s hands a little tighter.  
  
“Two…”  
  
“This is it, Grace…”  
  
“One!”  
  
 ** _Six Months Later  
  
_** “Mom! Mom!” Grace shouted excitedly as she ran up the gentle slope of the garden, across the black and white checkerboard tiles of the hallway and into a light and airy sunroom.   
  
You turned away from your easel, paintbrush in hand and smiled, “Yes, my sweet girl, what is it?”  
  
“Papa’s home!”  
  
Splashes of water peppered the ground as you dropped your paintbrush into a rinsing jar and followed her, taking her hand and running back out into the garden. Just at that moment, Jefferson closed the grand oak portal door behind him, and turned to face you, clutching the brim of his hat. You released Grace’s hand, watching as she ran at full speed down the hill to her father, flinging her arms out and very nearly launching herself into his embrace. You covered your mouth with the back of your hand, overwhelmed by the sight.   
  
Jefferson stood up straight, lifting your daughter into the air. “Precious Grace, I missed you!”  
  
“It’s only been 2 days, Papa,” she giggled, rubbing her nose against his.  
  
His eyes shifted to you, strolling down to meet him, nibbling your thumb. “I know, but that was more than enough time to miss both of my girls...”   
  
You placed your hand on his chest and gave him a soft kiss, “Welcome home, my love.”  
  
Grace’s giggling increased, watching him kiss you again.   
  
“It’s good to be home,” he smiled, opening his eyes slowly. He lifted Grace a little, resting her against his side, then reached out his other hand to you, interlocking your fingers and setting off back towards the house.  
  
“Productive trip?”  
  
“Very. The wood from the Petrified Forest by Dotty’s house is proving extremely popular. I bet the Wicked Witch didn’t see that coming…”  
  
“Probably not, no. Is Oz safe?”  
  
“I’m not sure. From what Dotty’s told me, the Witch is building her armies, so I won’t be going back there for a while. Besides, I’ve got something _else_ to focus my attention on…”  
  
“Oh?” you frowned.   
  
“I…should probably _show_ you…” With that, he spun on his heels, yanking you around with him so you were facing back towards the portal door. Grace chuckled, as you pulled a face at him. “Come on, we’ve got somewhere to be…”  
  
A flick of a hat, a beam of light and a leap of faith later, and three pairs of feet landed firmly on a familiar cobbled road. Your eyes followed the path of the uneven stones, all along their twisting, turning journey towards a walled kingdom in the distance.   
  
“Je…Jefferson…are…are we…?” You lifted your gaze, your eyes wide.  
  
“Yes, my darling. I think it’s about time, don’t you?”  
  
“What is?” Grace asked, “Where are we Papa?”  
  
“Wait and see,” he whispered to her, as you found yourself walking ahead, leaving them a few steps behind.   
  
The journey was quiet, and so much longer than you remembered. Probably because the last time you were here you were _slightly_ too preoccupied with Jefferson’s kisses to count the steps. You blushed at the thought, and increased your pace.  
  
Finally, you reached the gateway to the kingdom and stopped, twisting round to wait for your family. As they approached, Jefferson lowered Grace down to the ground, and placed his hand on your back. You reached out to feel for any enchantments, but pulled away at the last moment, fear crossing your features.  
  
“Mom?”  
  
“Rapunzel…” Jefferson whispered into your hair, “Have faith…”  
  
“Rapunzel?” came a powerful, yet warm voice beyond the wall.  
  
Whispers echoed along the winding streets, seeping under doors and through open windows until every pair of eyes in the kingdom was staring at you under the stone arch.  
  
“Y…yes…” you stuttered, suddenly rushing forward over the threshold and weaving through the crowds, your hand thrust into the air. “It’s me. I’m Rap…”  
  
The people parted at a spot where the narrow streets widened into a picturesque courtyard, a stone fountain bubbling away softly in the middle. That’s where you saw them…the King, tall and well-built, grey-haired, with a finely groomed beard and a warm smile, and the Queen, the same height as you, her face almost your double. Your eyes met, just as a beam of sunlight hit her long golden hair, interlaced with white, sending sparks of magic leaping from the strands.  
  
“M…mother…?” you choked.  
  
She covered her mouth with both hands, and nodded enthusiastically, “Yes…oh my darling daughter, yes…” She ran towards you and stopped a foot or two away, lifting her hand and caressing your cheek with her fingertips. “It’s been too long.”  
  
Tears flowed, not just from you and the Queen, but from your father, Jefferson, Grace…every man, woman and child in the kingdom. You had returned, finally.  
  
The King gave you an almighty bear hug, dropping a kiss in your hair and relaxing, for the first time in many, many years. He pulled back, wiping at your tears with his thumbs and kissing your forehead, “My beautiful, beautiful daughter, it’s as if all our time apart simply melted away.”  
  
You covered his hands with yours and nodded slowly, “It is…I’m so happy. And I have to introduce you the rest of your family...” You beckoned them over, “Father, I think you might already know my love, Jefferson…”  
  
The King gave a hearty laugh and nodded, reaching out to shake his hand, “Thank you, my son,” he managed, patting Jefferson’s hand before releasing it to wipe away a stubborn tear.  
  
“It was about time,” Jefferson said, moving to place a kiss on your lips, before resting a hand on your daughter’s shoulder.   
  
You sniffed, “And this is Grace, your granddaughter.”  
  
The King and Queen gasped, their faces filled with joy.   
  
She stepped forward, bold and undeterred by the many faces staring at her. She held out her hand and smiled, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Do you live in that castle?”   
  
“Yes,” the Queen spluttered, as your parents crouched down to her level, “We do…would you like to go inside and look around?”  
  
Her eyes lit up, and she spun around to face you and Jefferson, “Mom…Papa…can I?”  
  
“Of course,” you giggled, as Jefferson pulled you close, “Have fun.”  
  
She jumped in the air and ran to her grandparents, their hands outstretched. An audible sigh of delight from the gathered crowds resonated as the royal couple made their way back to the castle with their newly discovered granddaughter. Then the crowds dispersed.   
  
You looked at Jefferson, squinting as you took in his sharp features, as if for the first time all over again.   
  
“What?” he whispered, before planting a kiss on your cheek.  
  
“I was just remembering the first time I ever laid eyes on you…and how far we’ve come since.”  
  
“It’s been a journey, my darling, but I’ll never forget that young, sweet woman I met in the forest that day…and how much you’ve changed my life ever since.”  
  
You glanced back at Grace, in the distance, laughing at her grandfather’s jokes. “And you changed mine. All the good, all the bad…we made it in the end, didn’t we?”  
  
“Yes,” he breathed, leaning forward and kissing your lips, “Now, we’re finally home.”

 

**THE END**


End file.
